What is Mobile First Strategy?

Experts have come up with this term – Mobile First Strategy – in the recent years to refer to the widespread importance of mobile networks made up primarily of smartphones. Companies are now gradually beginning to initiate their production processes with mobile operating systems as the first choice before porting their apps to desktop systems.

Usage of Mobile devices has skyrocketed in the past six or seven years, opening up a new market for consumer software. Companies have therefore decided to adopt a Mobile First Strategy to make headway in these fresh markets, and consolidate their position in the desktop market later.

Now, let’s take a look at the role of Quality Assurance testing for this strategy:

1. Smoke Testing

Smoke testing basically reveals errors and glitches that could impact the major functions of a potential software product. The QA team runs cases to evaluate the functioning of a program’s most important components. A smoke test determines the most basic functionality, such as clicking a button or starting a program. This kind of testing checks if an app is entirely broken from the outset.

2. Functional Testing

Functional testing confirms that every component is corresponding to the functional requirements of a business according to various criteria (use cases, design specs, etc). Functional testing does indeed cover tailored testing for multiple devices and operating systems.

3. Exploratory Testing

Exploratory testing refers to relatively unscripted and unplanned testing, in comparison with more traditional processes. Testers consider only the high-level test components instead of a certain number of preset test cases. Then the testers “explore” the code and try to find various bugs, draw attention to other test areas, and generally enhance product knowledge to streamline further testing down the line.

4. Bug fix verification Testing

Here the test continually reports discovered bugs. As soon as the program confirms that a bug has been taken care of by the developer, then the particular use case where the bug was discovered is run once more to ensure that the bug has been repaired.

5. Performance + other non-functional Testing

In non-functional testing, the QA team confirms that the performance requirements and standards are satisfied (standards are, for example, browser and OS compatibility, and response times).

Individuated comparisons can be conducted in case performance testing is not specified in the instructions. These comparisons can involve testing the same app on a different platform / device combination, comparing with an older versions, and evaluating the overall performance of the app on a long run-through, without restarting or shutting it down.

6. Regression Testing

To make sure that each release phase does not affect prior releases, regression testing is conducted after each phase is released. Regression testing is not performed on the very first build because it always requires previous builds for testing.

Regression testing is performed after the release of each phase to ensure that there is no impact on previously released software. Regression testing cannot be conducted on the initial build because the test cases are taken from defects found in previous build ins, so initially there will be nothing to test against.

7. User Acceptance Testing

Before getting the green light, there is one last stage – user acceptance testing (UAT). The end consumers tick off the acceptance criteria to make sure that the app meets these criteria. This process can take a few hours or many months, in which further development and testing will be conducted. But when the UAT is complete, then the app gets the green light.

To be sure, even after launching the app, QA shouldn’t take a backseat – testing and acting on user feedback must continue to ensure that the app remains in good condition throughout its lifespan.

*Today most organizations have to deal with tight deadlines and ever-increasing demands from an informed market. Cigniti can be of great help to your delivery schedules, with QA experts who can take care of your automated testing needs.

To know more about how Cigniti can help you flourish with big data testing for your apps, please get in touch at contact@cigniti.com