Key Challenges in Mobile Application Testing
1. Variety of Mobile Devices– Mobile devices differ in screen sizes, input methods (QWERTY, touch, normal) with different hardware capabilities.
2. Diversity in Mobile Platforms/OS– There are different Mobile Operating Systems in the market. The major ones are Android, IOS, BREW, BREWMP, Symbian, Windows 7.5/8.0, Mango, and Blackberry (RIM). Each operating system has its own limitations. Testing a single application across multiple devices running on the same platform and every platform poses a unique challenge for testers.
3. Mobile network operators– There are over 400 mobile network operators in the world; out of which some are CDMA, some GSM, whereas others use less common network standards like FOMA, and TD-SCDMA. Each network operator uses a different kind network infrastructure and this limits the flow of information.
4. Scripting– The variety of devices makes executing the test script (Scripting) a key challenge. As devices differ in keystrokes, input methods, menu structure and display properties single script does not function on every device.
Mobile Application QA 