Testing and Debugging Android Apps: Ensuring Quality and Reliability

With the proliferation of mobile devices and the consequent rise in demand for mobile applications, quality assurance is more important than ever. To verify that a mobile app delivers as promised and works as intended, it must undergo testing, sometimes known as “app testing.” Application testing aims to verify that the final product is bug-free, offers a satisfying user experience, and functions as expected every time. Hire the top custom android app development company for your business.

Testing

The goal of software testing is to ensure that the final product works as intended, is free of bugs, and satisfies all of its intended audience’s needs by accommodating all edge and corner cases. 

Debugging

Debugging is the procedure of correcting a software defect. Finding, analyzing, and correcting mistakes is one definition. This process starts when the program doesn’t work as expected and ends when the issue has been fixed, and the software has been tested successfully. Because faults must be fixed throughout the debugging process, it is widely seen as a complex and time-consuming endeavor. 

When comparing testing with debugging, the primary distinctions are:

  • Defects and mistakes in a software system can be fixed through debugging, while testing is meant to find them.
  • Regarding the order of operations, testing comes first, and debugging comes last.
  • Method: testing runs the software system using test cases, whereas debugging looks at the symptoms of a problem to determine what’s causing it.
  • Debugging often uses logging, tracing, and code inspection, whereas testing may use automated or manual testing methods.

Why It’s So Crucial to Test Apps

These days, we can’t imagine life without our smartphones, which we use for everything from keeping in touch with friends and family to making purchases and keeping track of appointments. Quality assurance has never been more important with the proliferation of mobile apps. Testing mobile applications guarantees, they will function as expected, save users time, and be easy to use. Testing mobile applications is crucial for several reasons.

App testing is useful since it can reveal any flaws or mistakes in the program. A variety of mistakes, from those that have no noticeable effect on the app’s operation to those that can cause it to crash, fall into this category.

App testing is done to ensure the app provides a great experience for the user. This includes aspects like load time, responsiveness, and simplicity. Testing an app guarantees that it works properly across various platforms, devices, and display sizes. App testing guarantees the app’s safety and the privacy of its users.

Checklist for Evaluating Android App Performance

If your QA team has already identified the best Android smartphones for performance testing and developed a device matrix for testing, then you can get the best results by following the steps in this checklist.

1. Device independence

Like a mobile OS, your Android device must render and function faultlessly across thousands of devices with different screen sizes, resolutions, and software and hardware setups. Mobile app testing using actual mobile devices (phones and tablets) is essential for ensuring your app behaves as intended. 

Ensure you test the app’s responsiveness on various devices before releasing it to the public. One advantage of using BrowserStack App Live is that once your app has been uploaded, you may switch between testing devices without re-installing it.

2. Capacity to Support Weight

Android apps must be resilient enough to keep running even when inundated with requests. For the sake of argument, assume that a natural disaster has caused millions of people to try to reschedule their trains via a railway booking app. Does the program become unstable when thousands or millions of people try to use it all at once? Or do they carry on as usual? 

3. Frequency of Average Use

Mobile apps should load as quickly as web pages to keep users interested. Regardless of the operating system or mobile device, an app is only useful if opened and utilized within a few seconds. The best way to evaluate the current load speed is to check how the app loads on various real-time devices, as mentioned in the previous two paragraphs. 

4. Put to the Test

Load testing is typically performed alongside stress testing. In this scenario, simulated user requests will overwhelm the mobile app until it crashes. This kind of evaluation aims to find the app’s limit so that it may be enhanced to handle more requests. 

Take the case of an airline app, which may require an update due to major bugs or mishaps. The development team must check how many queries the app receives before it slows down or stops working. When did the app’s performance become so low that people stopped using it? Stress tests help with this. 

5. Management of Interruptions

In real-world user settings, mobile apps must respond to interruptions, such as incoming messages, calls, and notifications. You should test the app under those settings to ensure it continues working properly despite the interruption.  

When testing native applications, it is important to remember to examine every possible scenario involving an interruption across all supported devices, networks, and operating systems. The app’s performance should be perfect even if a call comes in during choppy network circumstances. 

6. Check for Spikes

Such examinations are like load and stress testing, but the situation is different. During a spike test, the app is subjected to a sudden and large influx of requests to see how it responds. For example, if you’re an e-commerce app developer, you know that Black Friday will be your busiest shopping day of the year. You can see how the app handles a sudden increase in traffic by using spike testing.

7. Checking for Reliability

Reliability testing aims to ensure that an app continues to function as intended over a wide range of conditions. It’s comprehensive, requiring only a few supplementary assessments, but it doesn’t cover everything. Simply said, reliability testing is done to see how stable a mobile app is under various real-world scenarios. 

When put into service in a more hacker-heavy environment, it verifies that its security measures are effective and infallible. Does the precise app safeguard user information as mandated by the laws of countries with stricter data privacy regulations? Tests of dependability will provide you with the info you need.

Final Thoughts

More and more devices will be designed to work within the Android ecosystem since it is here to stay. Since newer and more advanced models are always being introduced to the market, updating and fixing apps is an iterative process. We hope reading this post was helpful to you. Find the best custom software development services for your growth.