When integrating Android automation testing into the development process, any lapse in planning may lead your developers and engineers to experience significant delays. Nevertheless, these unforeseen delays can be avoided with an appropriate Android testing framework, the best Android testing framework tools, and best practices to make Android app testing more efficient.
Smartphones account for half of all web page views globally. That’s why product designers focus on smartphones upfront. It’s only pertinent for testers to acquire Google’s digital jargon, considering Android’s dominance in the smartphone business. Many companies turn to a cloud-based Android app testing solution to automate scripted tests on many real devices for rigorous testing to keep up with the increased testing load.
Software teams attempt to retain productivity and produce high-quality releases in the face of global lockdowns, as how you test matters more than ever. So, in this checklist, we went over 13 enhancements for making automated functional testing quicker, less flaky, and more efficient.
A Brief Idea about Android App Automation Testing
Consider the development of a contemporary Android app. It must, among other things, perform flawlessly on tens of thousands of Android smartphones with varying hardware specs, OS versions, and further technical details. Testing an app on many Android devices would require substantial time and effort. You’d have to pay many testers to run through every use case on all Android devices out there.
That is where Android app automation testing comes into play. Instead of individually executing each case, automate as many as feasible, write test scripts that mimic user activities, and set benchmarks by which tests will pass or fail. You may also simultaneously utilize parallel testing to run tests on numerous Android devices, saving more time and effort.
13 Exclusive Ways to Prevent Slowdowns
The pace of Android automated testing will increase by deciding how to approach the testing process of your application. Try to emulate these tricks and tips to get the most out of your Android testing tools and framework, including how to get rid of the slowdowns in the Android application automation testing process.
1. Integrate testing into the development process as early as possible, and strive for a short runtime.
From the beginning, the testing process must run in parallel with development. Testing indicates a continuous process rather than a phase to be completed at a specific time. Because the code base is initially much smaller, discovering and resolving significant issues is more manageable than fixing them afterward. This method is cost-effective and assists both developers and testers in creating better software. Optimize the number of tests and execution times for distinct touchpoints in the pipeline.
2. Optimize the efficacy of your CI system.
Continuous integration (CI) is a software development method that reduces integration issues and helps a team produce more coherent products quickly (daily or several times a day). One of the primary benefits of integrating tests at proper intervals is that you can spot and fix problems faster. Since most modifications are minimal, you may pinpoint the specific change that created the problem. This technique relies heavily on automated testing, which results in fewer risks, more convincing progress, and user feedback. Set up a master-slave configuration in the CI so the master machine can dispatch jobs, monitor them, and report the results without being overcrowded or slowing down.
3. Make the tests as brief as possible.
Not only do concise tests result in faster execution times, but they’re also less problematic and easier to iterate or resolve later. Here are a few ideas for keeping shorter testing on a large scale. First is by developing atomic tests. You may skip testing items you don’t need to test and optimize your tests’ execution speed and flakiness.
You can also use Selenium requests selectively to decrease the number of network calls. Each request lengthens the time it takes for your test to run. Consider using explicit wait instead of an if-else condition to loop requests until you get an element ID. Lastly, split the test case into multiple smaller components if possible.
4. To avoid latency, switch and change browsers.
Cloud testing solutions restrict the number of simultaneous tests you can perform on a given Android device at a time to avoid distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and misuse. You can queue the rest of the tests after you reach this limit. To avoid waiting and speed testing, identify these constraints and diversify or blend your tests across browsers and devices.
Blending is the process of dispersing your tests among browsers so that more tests may run in parallel without breaking the browser’s soft limit. If you have a certain number of tests to run on Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer and a soft limit of “x” (say) tests per browser type, you’ll be allowed to execute “y” (say) tests on each browser while deferring the remaining (x-y).
5. Bear the use of parallel programming.
Rather than successfully running each program one after the other, use parallel computation to perform the tests simultaneously. Configure your framework to run several tests at the same time to cut build times in half or more. Consider splitting a test script that checks a particular number of incorrect inputs into smaller hands and executing them concurrently.
6. Subject the testing to every pull request, if not at the end of each commit.
If the tests don’t take an eternity to execute, you can run them more often. Isolate functional defects early in the lifecycle to avoid testing bottlenecks near release dates. After each commit, try to run performance testing. If you haven’t already, run them on each pull request. The goal is to distribute your testing over the release cycle to avoid a backlog at the end.
7. Make use of the built-in debugging features.
Debugging features are built-in, such as snapshots at every request or failure, data in the test session, Selenium records, network logs, and others. Use these capabilities to help you pinpoint errors and their causes instead of implementing your code and logic for collecting snapshots and saving them locally. Instead of writing your logic and storing it locally, take advantage of your cloud platform’s debugging tools on your Android device and RESTful application programming interface.
8. Make sure you’re using the appropriate testing tools.
Automation testing is a speedier method of testing that may also provide valuable data. Every Android app testing automation solution assists teams in meeting the requirement for timely Android software apps. Your team should be picky about their tools for Android automated testing. To select the right platform for testing your software application, rely on your testing specialists or your quality assurance service provider throughout the tool selection process.
9. Boost nimble practices.
When it comes to Android automated testing, collaboration leads to faster outcomes. The nimbler approach dominates software development because it anticipates change by including primary and regression testing into the production pipeline. Using efficient development cycles aims to decrease your automation backlog.
Growth does not halt during the evaluation of a product. Nimble emphasizes continual iteration as a means of fostering innovation and continuous improvement. Analyze your site’s stats to see which devices are the most popular among visitors. For helpful test input, one can use crash data.
10. Decentralize test monitoring.
Your testing professionals are your product development collaborators. They should be seasoned pros that can help you with test design and automation tool selection for Android app testing. Your testing team is critical in communication processes, concurrent development, and testing execution. They should be able to automate the whole spectrum of test services necessary to bring an Android app to the industry.
When you hire the right experts, you can swiftly and efficiently scale up your testing. So, if your internal team cannot adequately support Android automated testing, consider hiring a test management team to avoid production setbacks.
11. Check the possibility of automating anytime and anywhere.
Where preparation ceases, automation tends to take charge. Android automated testing can continue to pump through test sessions relatively quickly. It would take an engineer to prepare the test cases if the correct Android testing infrastructure is in place. Manual testing plays a role in Android app development, mainly when testing legitimate and mimicking user experience. A group of quality assurance professionals, on the other hand, may arrange your test phase to optimize automation speed while maintaining quality.
12. Use physical smartphone devices to test for definitive findings.
Smartphones account for the majority of all web traffic. Companies use emulators and simulators to test the interface on mobile to ensure it doesn’t break. However, while they’re helpful for early-stage unit testing and prototyping, they’ll never be able to give conclusive, dependable test findings in real-world circumstances. Compatibility issues with devices and browsers are also a leading cause of revenue leaks in the funnel, making compatibility testing an essential part of your overall testing approach.
Furthermore, given the mobile industry’s fragmentation level, testing against every device would be unfeasible. For more open-test platforms and reliable results, test against one of the most popular devices in your customer base.
13. Keep up with the latest Android OS.
Since smartphone OSs constantly change, it’s essential to keep track of application delivery, languages, and standards. The specialized testing team must always be up-to-date with the newest Android changes, from market projections to testing trends. The quality assurance service supplier should provide futuristic automated testing facilities geared to suit the latest mobile market demands while fostering innovation and advancements.
