Functional Testing is primarily meant to ensure that an application or software works just the way it is expected to. Testing is always undertaken from the perspective of the end user of the app and enough care is taken to find out if the design requirement specifications have been fulfilled. Now, when it comes to mobile apps, the specifications vary altogether and to ensure that the apps work best, there are certain best practices that need to be taken into consideration. So, here is a list of strategies and methods that are useful with regards to functional testing for mobile apps. Let’s take a closer look.

Collaborating on the Requirements and Not Just Understanding Them – Yes, collaborating on the requirements is vital because it leads to the delineation of a proper test plan. QA Testing Experts adept in offering functional testing services are obviously aware of what the requirements are but working on them in a vacuum is of no practical use. The integrations, user commands, screens and processes on which the development team, the operations team and the testing team will be collaborating is critical.

Prioritizing the Steps in Your Test Plan – A proper test plan with everything meticulously delineated goes a long way in forming a good test strategy. So, incorporate the objectives and scope of testing, the resources to be required in the testing process along with a schedule. Now, with everything in the plan, testers should prioritize the test cases and this will definitely vary depending on the type of app that is being tested and developed.

Determining What Needs Automation and What Does Not – Automated testing is very crucial for mobile app development. While automation improves the quality of the software and reduces the time-to-market time, not everything needs to be automated. There are aspects that are more effectively handled through manual testing. So, the best way to go about it is to consider the short-term as well as long-term benefits and downsides of automation before implementation.

Creating Real User Condition for Effective Testing – Testing under real user condition is extremely necessary when it comes to mobile app testing. Testers are required to scrutinize the various functional requirements under different app conditions because whether and how an app works when you are out of data coverage or a call comes in are significant matters of consideration.

Managing Defects with Utmost Sophistication – At the basic level, the testing team can centralize the test repository with an issue tracking system. The system is used to assign the tasks and offer a simple one to one relationship with a particular bug in the process. In the event of more sophisticated scenarios where there are several configurations, workflows and datasets, it is rather unlikely for the issue tracking system to be sufficient and completely reliable. Under such circumstances, a more mature mobile test management system has to be brought in place depending on the app that is being developed.

While the above points sum up some of the best practices for functional testing for mobile apps, analyzing the test metrics is the final and one of the most important steps that mobile app testers need to keep in mind. Analysis in any sophisticated operation highlights enough opportunities and, therefore, leads to improvements in the overall testing procedure.