F14-11/4: McGyvering Through the Mysterious World of Mobile Testing

Track/s: MOBILE

First, we had feature phones, which didn’t really need software testing, but now smartphones make up over half of new phones sold. Look around you. How many people carry a feature phone? And now, the new revolution of wearable devices brings another level of complexity in testing the mobile applications that integrate with them in different contexts. Considering all the environments and variables, you’ll need to narrow it down, but how?

Get your favorite Swiss Army Knife and a roll of duct tape to forge ahead into the world of mobile testing and to find ways of testing the four different mobile software project types. First, Philip Lew and Jean Ann Harrison will journey with you to assess the situation to examine and discuss the different classifications of mobile software projects. Are we faced with a mobile web app, a mobile site, a mobile hybrid app, or a mobile native app? Next attendees will need to climb through the jungle of requirements, the dark caverns of the unknown limitations, and evaluate the software’s hidden architecture using our handy duct tape and knife to design our tests to reveal any obstacles blocking the path to releasing solid mobile apps.

The presenters, along with attendees, plan out the strategies and then implement the tests through exercises to gain ground on revealing more and conquering the mysteries of mobile testing. Should we add automation to our Swiss Army knife and duct tape? Can an automation application replace our duct tape as the primary tool? What about performance and security? Is it wise to escape testing performance and security testing? The User Experience test is another deep hole to be explored.

Attendees gain practice on operability, learnability, understandability, and then assess value, efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction for the user of the mobile app. What future adventures will customers and testers travel to next? Beyond phones and tablets, proprietary devices are used every day and have unique tests to be applied. Phil and Jean Ann will share some thoughts about testing these proprietary devices and breaking down the testing based on function, operating system and hardware. The end of the journey means a debriefing session and a final exercise building a matrix of tests based on mobile software projects, at the conclusion of which attendees can claim they have successfully “McGyvered” through the world of Mobile Testing.

Session Takeaways:

  • Digging into the architectures of the different types of mobile applications.
  • Explore different approaches for suitable testing strategies and plans based on project type.
  • Participate in missions to develop different strategies for mobile applications type with considerations of industry.
  • Determine how context can influence and change test planning for mobile software projects
  • Take away what determines performance testing for each type of mobile project


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Session Speakers:

JeanAnn Harrison – Independent Consultant

Jean Ann HarrisonJean Ann has been in the Software Testing and Quality Assurance field for over 15 years including 7 years working within a Regulatory Environment and 8 years performing mobile software testing. Her niche is system integration testing with focus multi-tiered system environments involving client/server, web application, and standalone software applications. Mobile software testing includes mobile native apps, mobile hybrid apps, mobile web applications, and mobile websites. 

Jean Ann is a consistent speaker at many software testing conferences, a Weekend Testing Americas facilitator as well as making guest appearances. She is always looking to gain inspiration from fellow testers throughout the software testing community and continues to combine her practical experiences with interacting on software quality and testing forums, attending training classes, and remaining active on social media sites.

Philip Lew – CEO, XBOSoft, Inc.

Philip LewPhilip Lew, CEO of XBOSoft, has both founded companies and managed them on behalf of others during his quarter-century-plus professional career. Although he has focused on software quality since joining XBOSoft in 2006 and has deep technical expertise as a software engineer, his experience is broad and eclectic. He’s led systems integration and new product development initiatives, prepared companies to go public, and served as an advisor on technology and business processes. Prior to joining XBOSoft, he served as an Ernst & Young consultant; founded and ran Pulse Technologies, Inc until it was purchased by EIS International; led the Systems Integrations Services Group at EIS; and served in a variety of executive roles for technology firms both in the U.S. and abroad. He holds a B.S. and a Masters Degree in Science and Engineering from Beihang University. He’s a fanatical bicyclist, doesn’t own a car, loves social media, and has visited more than 60 countries in an attempt to satisfy his travel lust.

Below are a few of Philip’s previous presentations:
Software Quality Metrics Do’s and Don’ts
The Good, the Bad, and the Metrics (Webinar)
Mobile Web Performance Optimization

Speaker Details:

Philip Lew – CEO, XBOSoft, Inc.
Twitter: @XBOSoft
Facebook: XBOSoft
LinkedIn: XBOSoft
Google+: +XBOSoft
Website: XBOSoft.com
Past Events: STPCon