Customers today have high standards when it comes to technology. They expect apps to run smoothly without bugs disrupting their digital experiences. With the growth of IoT, powering important devices such as home security systems, errors and outages can have serious consequences.
Technology is not only expanding but also fragmenting. Desktop browsers like Chrome and Firefox release a public beta or GA every month. And that's just browsers. New mobile devices, versions, and operating systems are released daily.
With each release, a new digital testing challenge is introduced for DevOps. Test teams are expected to keep up with every advancement, test against every change, and identify regressions. To meet these steep customer expectations, testing teams need to be strategic. It's essential for DevOps to have robust testing coverage that proactively analyzes the market and the pace of technology. Like test teams and developers retire irrelevant and aged code and test scenarios, platforms and OS versions also need to be monitored continuously and adjusted as needed.
Ignoring the importance of test coverage is the biggest risk of all. It puts a company's reputation at risk and creates an opening for competitors to win. To create a bulletproof test coverage plan, it is important to understand the significance of agile test coverage.
The key to effective test coverage is understanding the full scope of the technology spectrum, from browser usage to devices. Test coverage has become more complex with the rapid advancements in technology. It is not limited to just deciding which devices to test on. A comprehensive and strategic approach is necessary.
The traditional definition of test coverage often only includes the devices to test on. However, a more robust test coverage plan includes a wider range of considerations. For instance, different platforms have varying supported technologies. Some devices may support face recognition while others of the same platform may not. Therefore, it is crucial to include a mix of devices and OS versions to cover all the necessary functionalities of the app.
Effective testing includes:
- Different types of mobile devices
- Various web browsers
- Various operating systems
- A variety of test types
- Efficient and varied timing and duration of tests
- Consideration of the overall testing schedule.
While new mobile devices and browser upgrades may be desirable for consumers, they can be a challenge for testing teams. With each update, teams must consider the device, screen characteristics, OS, and OS version, leading to an almost infinite number of variations. The best test coverage cannot possibly test every device and browser combination. Instead, the test coverage plan must be prioritized based on multiple parameters.
Testing must prioritize the most popular devices among the target demographic. It is important to know the demographics and devices they are using, particularly in the region or country being targeted. When end users are distributed across different geographies, this should be taken into account in the testing lab setup.
It is also essential to keep track of the top device brands such as Motorola, Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, and LG. Additionally, screen size and resolution have become critical testing factors as devices are getting larger and smaller to meet market preferences.
Device type is just one aspect of test coverage. The OS being used is also a crucial aspect of the test coverage plan. OS frameworks can vary widely from one another, so testing cannot be limited to one operating system such as iOS. The Android family of operating systems has the majority of the market, but within Android are a large number of variations, adding major testing complexity. With iOS, while the reach is smaller, most users are updated to the latest OS.
The only way to ensure a quality user experience is to replicate the user's environment as closely as possible. This means replicating the user's journey as they interact with the app. To accurately reflect various user personas, DevOps teams should use tools such as analytics, app user stories, end-user profiles, personas, location, network condition, background apps, and non-full battery charge in addition to the unique device/OS models chosen based on the considerations above.
In order to have consistent and dependable testing, teams should align their testing with market usage patterns. This includes customizing test coverage to reach the geographies where their apps are used, as consumers expect seamless app functionality across digital channels. The good news is, using automated parallel cloud-based testing, teams can create a test coverage strategy and methodology without spending hours on it. The Test Coverage Index is a valuable resource that can assist teams in creating a test coverage plan that will adapt to their needs and their customers. The index takes into account all device and OS combinations across 13 different countries, paired with other characteristics such as device age, screen parameters and other testing related guidelines to provide data-driven test coverage of the mobile market.