Mobile app testing has become a key area of software testing, and it is not only to provide error free app to the user but also to reduce the app un-installation rate! To justify this point, let’s begin from the root. Mobiles have become inevitable in our lives today, and the focus of the information search is shifting highly towards mobile phones. Therefore, the presence of a mobile app has become a necessity for every business today.
A company may belong to any field ranging from health, entertainment, and news to education; an app is needed to reach out to the customers and develop the business. This is why we have many apps concerning every field of our life, and a new app is getting launched every minute.
However, we can see a considerable amount of uninstallation trend among the users, which is not a good sign for any business concerning its credibility and revenue. The question arises here can we prevent such uninstallation? Yes, we can do that, but before doing that, our first focus area should be to identify the reasons behind the uninstallation and statistics to understand its importance.
Read more - What are the Software testing current trends?
Un-installation trends of Mobile Apps
Google Play is home to around 2 million apps, and Apple App Store has more than 1.5 million apps. Though the apps keep increasing in number, the app's users install and use them less in number. Hence, this has become a common tendency to install an app and uninstall it pretty quickly. According to one of the studies, every one in four users uses the app only once. On average, the phone user keeps 10% of the downloaded apps for a significant amount of time.
Moreover, Android users have pretty low retention levels of the apps. The total un-installation percentage is around 90%, with 30% of apps getting deleted in only 10 minutes of their download. For iPhone users, 83% of the apps are removed quickly after installation. The following graph shows how the rate of user retention has changed over the years.
Source:https://techcrunch.com/2016/05/31/nearly-1-in-4-people-abandon-mobile-apps-after-only-one-use/
As per the reports for Android Apps by Andrew Chen and Quettra Study, the average level of retention decreases from the day of installation and drastically changes over the number of days. The following table shows that the average retention rate has decreased to 4% until the D90.
Reasons behind mobile apps uninstallation
Looking at the reasons for the quick un-installation of the apps, certain reasons are commonly seen in these cases. Following are some of the points responsible for this:
1.Loading Speed:
Poor speed of loading of an app is one of the common reasons for uninstalling the app. If the app is taking too long to respond and has a prolonged loading process, it causes frustration. Another reason could be the complication of navigation in the app that discourages frequent use of the app. The app's instructions are also sometimes unclear, leading to confusion or failure of purpose for the user.
2.Size of the app:
If the app is taking a lot of storage space, it can cause user concern and often leads to un-installation quickly. The mobile firms usually prefer the apps smaller in size that can interest the user and does not hog much space. The large size of apps is seen as one of the most common reasons for the uninstallation of apps.
3.Battery consumption:
Another common reason for uninstalling the apps is battery drainage in excess. Some apps keep on running in the background and consume excessive battery. Sometimes, the device gets overheated in the case of some gaming apps. The users, hence, like to get rid of such apps.
4.Privacy issues:
Security has become a lot significant lately. Many apps today cause a threat to the privacy of users. Certain apps ask for several permissions from the users, making them skeptical of such apps' retention. Apps for online shopping, payment portals, etc., are generally vulnerable to user data security threats.
5.Poor user experience:
Usually, the apps are free these days, and the developers like to make money by ads on the app. The frequent ads on the app can lead to intrusion for the user ruining the user experience. The users do not as the multiple ads pop, leading to the uninstallation of the app.
6.Wrong claims:
Some apps do not perform the functions as the title or description claims. The functions and performance of the app might not be as per the user's expectations. In these cases, users might quickly download the app, but the apps are usually short lived due to the wrong claims and promises.
7.Better options for similar app:
Even if the app is excellent, there can be cases of un-installing the app when the user finds a better option. People might download and use the app if they are satisfied, but they uninstall the app when they come across another similar app with better features.
8.Unnecessary notifications:
Though the users' notifications may seem necessary from time to time, the apps that send the notifications too frequently can disturb the users. The apps that do not have the option to turn off the notifications can cause users with frequent emails, messages, and notifications. This leads to the uninstall of the apps by the users commonly.
Market Trends and Testing Requirements
With the growing number of mobile apps and even more users added in recent years, the apps' importance has been increasing. The decision of the user to choose an app is becoming more complex with time as well. The lower retention rate of apps and un-installation trends show that there are multiple reasons for the users' rejection of the apps. Due to this, the need for mobile app testing has increased a lot. To overcome the challenges and achieve the highest quality in apps, mobile app testing is the way out.
Challenges of Mobile Testing
The complexity in mobile app testing is much more complex than the normal web applications or traditional desktop apps. Many mobile devices use mobile apps. These devices differ in shape, software, size, version of the software, etc. Even the hardware of the devices is entirely different, leading to increased scenarios of variations.
People might face issues due to roaming or network changes leading to problems in the app's functioning. Hence, it becomes indispensable for the developers to make sure that the app works perfectly for the end-user. Testing and QA's key challenges are to achieve testing in shorter frames of time and achieve the maximum level of automation in testing. Real-time monitoring of quality and predictive testing forms are rising in importance too.
Demand for the best practices in Mobile App testing
Customers like to ensure that the best practices are followed to showcase robust, user-friendly, and unbeatable business apps. Hence, some of the key testing requirements here are:
1.Automation:
As per the World Quality Report, generally, 45% of the total test cases are automated, showing that manual testing is still used. This indicates that test automation is an excellent opportunity now. Many tools of test automation shall be used for maximum test coverage.
With the help of automation, you can always test in the parallel execution, and you can check on multiple devices at one time. You don't have to code with the right testing automation tools and test recorder. Integration with platforms like Jenkins, JIRA, and QC is possible for expanding the test automation. The integration with the cloud is possible with higher speed and parallel execution.
2. Role of Customer Experience:
With the digital world transformation, the end-user experience and customer value have become the highest priority. The mobile app for the company can impact the reputation of the company hugely. If people abandon the app, they will abandon the brand. Hence the mobile app QA (Quality Assurance) needs to be considered strategically important.
3.DevOps and Agile:
With the increasing use of Agile and DevOps, the need for mobile app testing has increased manifolds. There challenges concerning the right test data and test environment. The focus areas in mobile testing have to be identified, and professional testing expertise is needed in the agile teams.
4.Need for Flexibility:
The technologies like Big Data, smartphones, and IoT are increasing in penetration. This leads to new releases in the mobile apps, and newer versions call for testing. The testing tools with higher flexibility are required to keep up with the latest technologies to provide the best customer and user experience.
5.Role of technology in the businesses:
Most of the businesses have great opportunities in mobile technology quality. The testing automation implementation can provide an edge to the companies over the competitors. The companies shall focus on the mobile and digital structure.
Can Mobile App Testing increases the chance of app survival?
Using acceptance testing, mobile apps are tested to ensure that the functionality does not break. There are specific drivers and aims in the mobile app testing to ensure the survival of apps. Acceptance tests shall be simple to establish trust in the automation code. An examination shall provide an early warning while changing the code too. The tests shall have preconditions to invalidate the test assumptions.
Another aim for the tests is to act as safety rails to keep from straying far from the correct direction. The acceptance tests do not solve all problems, and they shall be backed with automated tests to check performance and security. To understand the Opportunity cost and Return on Investment (ROI), we need to consider different factors. Most of the benefits and costs have to be assessed over the software lifetime.
Test automation has many challenges too. Testing the web applications have to cope with the dynamic contents which change very quickly with different factors. Due to the apps' dynamic nature, the tests shall detect the changes and interrogate the system changes at different points in time.
These changes can be due to calendar, clock-based, or button-based, etc. There are UI tests based on the browser, for which there has to be a trade-off to optimize the tests and maintain their independence. Specific bugs get discovered during the automated testing that has to be fixed. These tests shall show the cause of the problems and show if the problem is fixed. Automated tests for the bugs help in avoiding issues in the future.
The positive comments and implementation speed can check the mobile apps' success for bug fixes and features and the number of downloads for an app. But to ensure that the app will be a success, we need the help of mobile application testing. Mobile testing helps in delivering a better quality of software. It helps the success of the app with the testing of its usability, functionality, and consistency. These things will help in improving the user base for the app.
Thus testing is a crucial part of the software development lifecycle process, and it is even more significant in the case of mobile apps. With the agile process, testing is repeatedly performed to ensure quality in the best way. This will help in keeping the users interested and avoiding bugs in the new features.
To conclude, for better testing, just test case execution is not sufficient. As we have discussed, you need to understand the market, trends, and loopholes to pitch in the areas correctly. Hence, focus on all these critical areas. With all the expertise in every modern testing type, you can do a thorough analysis of the apps to design relevant test cases. Become a domain leader and make your customers experience the service difference by yourself!
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