Building a great app requires to check off against some key points across design, test, security and performance. Here's a quick reckoner for the quality side of mobile app development.

1. Neobric
Best Practices
for Mobile App Testing
By Rajesh Rejeti

2. Mobile App Dev – Test cycle
Producing reliable and easy to use mobile apps takes a little
more than good design and development quality.
There are so many facts to consider when developing a mobile
testing plan.
Use this best practices checklist to make certain you are
considering everything to test and release a great app

3. Functional Testing
1. Sign-up & Login: Make sure it is easy to use. Use O Auth or SSO wherever feasible and relevant
2. Menu Options: Test to make certain menu options are easy to find and navigate.
3. Keys: Check if the app will run well with a keyboard and/or touchscreen.
4. Data Handling: Manage data handling and avoid data deletion.
5. Connection Speed / Carrier Test across the most popular & likely carriers.
6. OS: Test the mobile OS running the app to evaluate relative performance.
7. Screen Size: Test on different phones and tablets to identify screen size discrepancies.
8. Error Messages: Must be clear, concise and actionable.

4. Usability Testing
1. Connectivity Effect: Will a slow pipe or bad connectivity hinders performance?
2. Small Screen Size Effect: Does it still work well on a small screen?
3. Different Display / Resolutions Effect: Is low-res killing your image?
4. Easy to use: Wear end user gloves and start test the work-flow. It should seamless.
If a user is having a problem, it’s our problem….

5. Design & Lay out Testing
1. Page Layout Evaluate the overall effectiveness of the page layout.
2. Color combinations, Background, text, links, icons, and buttons must go well together.
3. Findable: Key items like Help, About, Instructions & Search should be easy to find.
4. Localization: Consistent in terms of text, messages and symbols in all supported languages.
5. Touchscreens: Test multi-touch vs single touch, long touch vs short touch, button size, workflow, and other input methods if supported.
6. Trackballs, Track Wheels and Touch pads: Should easily be able to move from object to object.
7. Soft Keyboards: Should appear when it is needed.
8. Hard Keys: Check that the hard keys work with the app: Start, Home, Menu, Back with the app in a similar way.
9. Short Cuts: If there are any expected shortcuts for the device, test their use within the app.

6. Localization Testing
1. General Localization Testing: check user interface, content files, keyboard, text filters, hot keys, spelling rules, sorting rules and
upper/lower case conversion rules.
2. Format Testing: check date formats & currencies as per country.
3. Local Market Compliance: Check for local laws and regulation compliance.
4. Content Testing: Check video, static & dynamic content (e.g. Catalogs, search results, metadata).
5. Characters: Use appropriate character sets for the chosen languages.
6. Postal Codes: Verify if the target countries support only number alphanumeric.
7. Language Direction: Left to right or right to left?
8. Currency Conversion: Test for currency conversion for internet retailers applications.
9. Tax Calculation Verification: Test the rules around the calculation of VAT, sales tax.
10. Translation Validation: Test on-demand translation validation and accuracy.

7. Security Testing
• Web Applications – Test with Firefox web developer (or similar) and use a web proxy to intercept
and monitor.
• Format Testing – Watch for unencrypted password/user names and make sure footprint &
fingerprint analysis can be used to make hash files.
• Local Market Compliance – Research permissions configuration to ensure that your application
can get access to the device areas it needs in order to function properly. Provide useful error
messages directing the user to set the permissions properly if it cannot.
• Levels & Permissions – Verify successful installation at all expected device security level settings
and verify it’s possible to change the security settings of your device or app permissions.

8. Performance check
1. Test Infrastructure Management – Test on live or simulated load.
2. Load & Stress – Test with the largest tasks, it can operate with, increase the load on the system via
automated tools to simulate a real time scenario with virtual users.
3. Check how fast your app connecting & retrieving data with integrated third parties.
4. Reporting – Use the internal and external bug reporting and test management tools.

9. Interruptions & Compliance Test
1. Test for Incoming and Outgoing SMS and MMS, Incoming and Outgoing Calls, Battery Removal, Cable
Insertion and Removal, Network Outage and Recovery, Media Player On/Off and Device Power Cycle.
2. Compliance with regulated privacy, data security laws, and requirements (HIPAA, FDA, PCI, etc.)

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Here’s to your apps