Testing an app is very important to ensure the intended use case and performance. This is because, during the testing process, the developers can ensure that all the components and elements in the application are working as intended. It also helps the developers avoid unintentional scenarios when the application might completely crash on the user. Various test cases can help verify the functioning of each element present in modern apps. Real device testing is an important segment of application development that massively improves the reliability and accuracy of the test cases. Real device testing is a very complex process if it is not managed and executed properly by modern application developers and testers.
Let us begin our discussion with the basics of real device testing. With this article, we will take a detailed look at the influence of real devices in various test cases, especially for verifying the performance of applications on Internet of Things (IoT) devices. We’ll also discuss some of the best practices to improve the reliability and speed of the test execution process.
Influence of Real Device Testing
In the modern app development industry, developers need to understand the diversity of the market. In the earlier days, the end users could only access the Internet through the desktop. However, several other options, like smart devices, tablets, Internet of Things devices, and even smartwatches, are available. In such a diverse market, the developers must ensure the application’s compatibility with all these devices. Maintaining and continuously expanding the user base is an essential feature. Many developers try to restrict the test cases to only simulation and emulation software. But this software cannot replicate the behavior of a physical device. For instance, we cannot understand how an application will react to a low battery, user error, or a broken display with emulators.
The massive drawback of maintaining a physical device lab is the expense and hassles that come with it. We used the term hassle because the developers have to invest a lot of time to keep the test bench updated as thousands of new devices come every year. Developers often take the shortcut of using simulation software as it is costly to maintain a physical device lab. However, for the company’s reputation and the product’s final quality, it is essential to choose a better alternative. In such cases, it is an excellent choice to integrate cloud platforms in the test lab. We will understand more about the influence of cloud platforms in the modern application development process in the latter part of this article.
Understanding Internet of Things (IoT) Devices
To understand the potential of testing Internet of Things (IoT) devices, the developers need a basic idea about these devices. In the Internet of Things, ‘Things’ refers to all the physically present devices that consist of software, sensors, and technologies that can help them interact and communicate with other devices over the Internet. With the help of this communication, these devices can share various forms of information, data, and raw code that help provide multiple features to the end users. Some great examples of Internet of Things devices include Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
Survey shows that almost 35% of households worldwide have access to all of these smart devices. So, application development companies need to ensure the stable performance of their apps on these devices. These devices have gained a lot of popularity in recent years. This is yet another step for developers to expand their present reach.
Best Practices for Integrating Real Device Testing on Internet of Things Devices
As a modern application developer or tester, you must be aware of the best practices that can help you to realize the full potential of a real device test bench. To simplify this process, we have created a list of the most common and impactful practices that can help new developers and veterans. They are as follows:
- Before starting the testing process, the developers must have a different idea about their testing goals. All these goals must include their target audience, target Internet on Things devices, and the required testing parameters. To further improve the impact of this process, the developers can conduct a thorough market study and understand the requirements of their audience. App development companies must also include the development and testing teams and the business teams while setting these goals. This will allow for creating a mutual understanding between the different teams in the company.
- After setting the goals, the developers must choose their target devices. These devices play a vital role in improving the dependability of the test results. While choosing the devices, the developer should also focus on the firmware, device software, or physical specifications of a device. Conducting the test cases in a device-specific format will help the developers to understand various bugs and errors that may be present in any physical device. It is also crucial for the developers to continue supporting their apps on older versions. This is because a massive segment of the user base needs to update their software.
- As an app tester, you must remember that the Internet on Things devices is meant to work in multiple scenarios and environments. So, while verifying your app’s performance on these devices, you must replicate these environments. So, the app developers need to verify the performance of their application on these devices in high temperatures, humidity, and even low bandwidth. It will help them understand how their application behaves under various physical conditions. Using various user input forms to replicate multiple users’ technological awareness is also essential.
- While testing the performance of an application on various Internet on Things devices, the developers need to consider the security of these apps. This is because it is common for these devices to store various forms of sensitive user data. Moreover, certain modern devices allow end users to conduct financial transactions with these devices. So, the developers must ensure that all forms of data are secure and not vulnerable to a data breach. While performing security testing on these devices, app developers must focus on penetration testing.
- To improve the efficiency of real device testing on the Internet of Things devices, the developers can integrate automation testing into their test bench. With the help of automation testing, the developers can eliminate the need for a manual test bench. This is because, with the help of this process, they can use test files that allow the system to interact with the application like a normal user. Based on these interactions, the system will generate a report about the application’s usefulness, user interactivity, and stability. Automation test files are also very easy to store, maintain and reuse in future app development projects. Various automation testing tools and frameworks like Selenium allow real device testing natively.
- The developers must focus on real-world scenarios while creating the test scripts for executing various test cases on IoT devices. This is because, with the help of real-world test cases, the developers can massively increase the accuracy and dependability of the test cases. For instance, app developers can use the Selenium IDE to create test cases based on user interactions. Moreover, these test cases are generated in real-time and come with no delay. Some other tools and frameworks can help developers to analyze the accuracy of test reports.
Integrating Tools and Platforms in Real Device Testing
Tools and platforms can greatly simplify the real device testing process and reduce the overall expense. This is because the developers can eliminate their need for a physical real device testing lab with various cloud platform tools. This is because while working with these platforms, the developers can achieve similar test results by conducting the test cases over the Internet. Moreover, these servers provide access to multiple devices and platforms unavailable in the market. This is an essential feature as various market studies show that more than 80% of users do not update their devices before two years.
We can improve our knowledge and understanding of the influence of cloud platforms in real device testing by moving our focus towards LambdaTest as our benchmark:
To simplify the understanding of LambdaTest, we can define it as a modern and secure digital experience testing platform that enables developers and testers to perform manual and automation testing over more than 3000+ different browsers and OS combinations.
LambdaTest also offers some advanced features like parallel testing to enhance the test execution and improve efficiency by almost 15 times. You can execute test automation scripts from well-known frameworks like Playwright, Cypress, and Selenium. LambdaTest is an excellent choice; over 1M+ users rely on us for their testing needs.
Conclusion
The purpose of this article was to spread awareness about the Internet of Things devices market and the prospect of integrating real device testing with these test benches. The correct tool can influence the final application test reports. The developers should understand the role of automation testing in the modern app development market. Experts believe that the integration of test automation will continue to increase in the coming years.
So, app developers should try everything in their power to keep their knowledge updated about the influence of test automation in the modern app development market. In this regard, we suggest that the app companies conduct various seminars to distribute the required knowledge about tools and testing practices.
