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Mobile App Performance Testing: A Step-by-Step Guide

In the future, when people use your app, they will encounter problems such as sluggish loading or even system failure. During those times, you would want to know what causes the problem.

If the problem is persistent, then there might be something really errant within the system or your app cannot handle the pressure of accommodating too many users at the same time. 

Mobile App Performance Testing: A Step-by-Step Guide

That’s why performance testing for app services is required, especially for mobile devices. So, what you do is check the probable issues that can be encountered even before allowing people to get hold of your application. Check basic info below.

Mobile app testing is able to detect:-

  • Long response and slow load time
  • Poor scalability
  • System reliability issues
  • Performance bottlenecks

Types of Tests for App Performance

These are basically six tests conducted in performance testing: 

Load Testing

Load testing is applied because of its ability to test the system on how much load it can support. Here, the behavior of the app is observed under different amounts of loads (i.e. users), and when the load is heavy, the response time and the app’s staying power are also observed. 

With the load testing, the key transactions from concurrent users are also identified and the normal and peak loads of concurrent users are estimated.  

Stress Testing

Stress testing is a test that is designed to push an app’s environment to its breaking point so that the developer can have an idea of the upper limits of the app’s capacity. 

With this test, you can define system failures and check recoverability in non-standard conditions. 

Endurance Testing

Then you also apply endurance testing on your app, which basically involves testing its system with a significant amount of load for an extended period of time. This means a test to know how the system behaves under sustained use with substantial loading. 

Scalability Testing

Scalability testing refers to the test that determines the maximum load that the system can hold and checks the capacity of the system to change in size or scale to accommodate the maximum load. The purpose of this test is to apply adjustments to make sure that the system is scalable under the identified maximum load.  

Volume Testing

In volume testing, the software is subjected to a huge volume of data. This test is also called flood testing. By identifying load issues, lots of money can be saved which you can otherwise spend on maintenance. The test also helps in identifying possible bottlenecks early on. 

Spike Testing

Spike testing involves an evaluation of the weakness of the system under extreme incrementing and decrementing of loads. The aspect being checked here is the system’s behavior under significant load changes occurring over short periods of time. 

Additional Areas to Check in Testing

Here are additional areas where the testing company will perform tests on your app: 

Mobile Platforms and Devices

You want your app to work flawlessly on different devices and platforms such as Android, iOS, and Windows. You should identify your target platforms and devices, so the tester can specifically work on those items for your app. 

App Customization

If it is possible, come up with an application that can be utilized in different devices without compromising user experience. For instance, if the app has to function on small and big screens, the design needs to be maximized for both sizes. 

If the screen is small, the images should not be stretched or cut to cover the entire screen. In the case of bigger screens, the graphics should not be pixelated resulting in blurry images. 

Come up with a customization feature that enables your app to work in an optimized way regardless of the device. 

Connectivity and Network Issues

You may require that your app works in different network connections, such as Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, etc. These different networks have different speeds and fluctuations, which can affect your app’s performance and consequently, user experience. The tester will also suggest to you to check this aspect. 

When looking for a testing company that you can work with in developing your app, make sure that they can perform all the necessary tests needed for you to develop a flawless system. Check if they have both manual and automated types of testing. 

In summary, you need to test in several aspects – performance, compatibility, usability, customization, connectivity and so on.