Certification For Mobile App Testing

Mobile app testing is a relativity new concept in the overall field of professional software testing. So, how can a tester show to prospective employers that they can test a mobile app. Most software testers will hold the ISTQB certification at least to a foundation level. While this certification is perfectly adequate, it only covers basic principles in software testing and does not require any knowledge in applying those principles in real-word testing scenarios.

So, today, a tester who wishes to demonstrate proficiency in mobile testing, must either show experience or certifications. Experience could be a list of mobile apps that they have tested, or perhaps a reference from an employer for example. But, certification-wise, these are few and far between. One mobile app certification does stand-out from the rest, and that is the Mobile App Testing Associate certification (MATA).

This highly sought after certification can be studied for and achieved entirely online, which is a major plus for anyone wishing to achieve testing certifications. In addition, real-world experience is gained during the study by participating in hands-on study workshops which allow you to demonstrate the new skills learned by testing on real mobile apps and submitting defects online. Throughout this training course, the student also has the benefit of having their own personal training tutor who is available to answer any questions during the training. At the end of the training, a certificate is issued which can be shown to future employers demonstrating your mobile app testing knowledge and experience.

Certification For Mobile App Testing

The First Software Tester in History?

This week saw the 107th Birthday of Grace Hopper. Grace lived from 1906 to 1992 and she was widely regarded as one of the pioneers of software development, and also had a glittering career in the Navy. In fact she was often referred to as “Amazing Grace”.

In her long list of credits she was the first person to coin the phrase ‘debugging’. Many testers today often asked the question, where did the term ‘software bug’ come from. Well, it came from Grace Hopper and she got the idea while removing a moth from a computer!

Grace also cam up with the idea of machine-independent programming, which ultimately led to the development of COBOL, which was one of the very first modern pr9ogramming languages.

The First Software Tester in History?

Qualities for a Mobile Tester

What makes up a solid mobile tester?  If you were searching for someone to join your mobile testing team or want to try this career, what kinds of qualities do you need?  As I’ve discussed in previous blogs, mobile testers do not JUST test the software as if it were a desktop application.  Mobile testers must have a different perspective of how to go about their jobs.  So let’s break down the types of tests needed and to uncover qualities to make up that solid mobile tester.

Mobile devices and those applications which work off of mobile devices are entire systems.   A client/server application does not require the tester to test the server, how the database would store data, but instead will test data travelling back and forth to the server.  What application tester will test the servers’ drivers?  Does the application tester consider testing network communication existence beyond the connection itself?  Can the device remain in sync at various locations?  Is the device clock updated, especially after moving the device to different locations?  Many mobile applications will use the LED notification lights for a purpose, check wifi networks when location changes, check to make sure the application is in sync, update the time if the application uses/records time from the device clock.  And let’s not forget the hardware tests affecting software behavior which is rarely a consideration for a client/server application tester.

The mobile tester needs to understand the entire architecture of the mobile device’s system including hardware, firmware and interaction with the software.  As I’ve previously referred in earlier blog posts, charging the device while engaging with the software can create interesting overall system behavior which may not be acceptable to the user or customer.  The mobile tester should be prepared to breaking down the system, and the mobile tester must be comfortable reading log files, not afraid to read code and consider all different perspectives.

Mobile testers tend to be system integration testers.  The types of tests a system integration tester performs help to develop the skill of expanding perspective.  Seeing beyond the GUI tests, considering possible behavior patterns, asking “what if…” all help the system integration tester and mobile tester.

How can you find someone to do mobile testing?  The experience can be stated but the tester must prove they can do mobile testing by describing their tests.   Mobile testers spend time on performance tests and those tests rarely consider load testing.  Quite simply, interactions on the mobile device are singular and not reliant on the number of users.  Load testing from a traditional sense is not part of a mobile tester’s set of tasks.  Performance tests are not traditional, and mobile testers think differently.  A great example of a mobile performance test is how network communication is maintained while charging the mobile device.  Add the idea of charging the device and then changing up variables to create more functional tests.  Observe the performance of the software during these tests which will reveal more about the software application’s behavior.

If a hiring manager is looking for a mobile tester or someone capable of performing mobile testing, the hiring manager might ask questions about regarding the ability to look at a situation in many different ways. Can the candidate apply skills to new situations?  Is the candidate capable of combining tests and changing up conditions to create new test situations?   Mobile testers have to see and test in multiple levels.  GUI and functional testers rarely test on multiple levels and find it difficult to see different perspectives.

Next up:  Mobile tests for the mobile website.  Why is testing a mobile site different than desktop website?  What considerations do you include in your tests?  Please feel free to leave your thoughts, suggestions or questions as comments.  Reminder, no comments will be published if not commenting on the specific blog post.

Qualities for a Mobile Tester

Software Testing with Real or Virtual Machines?

An ongoing debate in the field of software testing is whether or not to rely on test results gathered from testing on virtual machines (VM’s). In the last ten years or so, virtual machines have revolutionized the way software testers work. Before, the virtual machine revolution, testers would often spend their day in front of racks of computers to perform their day-to-day testing. These computers would each have to be setup to specific configurations and this would ultimately result in a large amount of additional setup time to perform each test.

Virtual machines allow a tester to deploy a test environment within seconds, and most testers rely on these today. However, there is a risk that certain defects can only be detected on a real machine, and may not be seen in a ritualized environment. The current trend shows that testers are accepting this level of risk and relying on the virtual machines. There is still much debate as to whether or not this is an acceptable risk, and to be fair will depend on each projects requirements and expectations of the test results.

Software Testing with Real or Virtual Machines?

ISTQB Foundation Agile Testing Certification

Some exciting news was recently announced for anyone who has, or plans to obtain the ISTQB Foundation certificate in software testing. Recently, the ISTQB announced that it was going to launch an Agile testing add-on to the foundation certification in 2014.

The ISTQB Foundation certificate, often referred to as the Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) is the world’s most common certification in software testing. Tens of thousands of testers hold this certificate, and many have achieved this a long time ago. So this is great news for anyone who would like to freshen-up that old certification and bring it right up to date with an Agile add-on.

Testing within an Agile environment is common-place today and so this training news will certainly be of interest. Full details of the syllabus or exam details have not yet been released. We will certainly be updating the testing community as soon as we know more.

ISTQB Foundation Agile Testing Certification

Taking Advantage Of Mobile App Customer Reviews

Mobile app development continues to grow at an unstoppable pace on a global scale. The app stores are flooded with a massive range of exciting and inspiring apps (also interspersed with pointless ones too). The apps that have that ‘popularity’ factor all share one key attribute though, and that is quality.

Just looking at the top ten list in any category, you will be hard-pushed to find apps that crash on a regular basis, have non-functioning features. An app that is of poor quality, will quickly have a raft of negative reviews. These reviews are of key importance and should not be ignored by the mobile app developer, as most consumers will focus on the reviews before downloading it. An app that has lots of bad reviews, will push the customer to a competitor’s app within an instant. Many reviews contain wishes for enhancements and additional functionality. This type of feedback is priceless, and is essentially free market research. Listening to the target market instead of asking it is more efficient and reliable than any market research.

By listening to the customer reviews, and actively using them to improve the quality and features to meet the customer’s expectations, will ultimately determine the app’s overall success. Take a look at the top apps in the marketplace today and read the review history. It is interesting to see how an app of average quality turns into highly successful app by listening to it’s target audience.

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Taking Advantage Of Mobile App Customer Reviews

Why Choose Online ISTQB Foundation (CTFL) Training?

When choosing to study for the ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL), many people are choosing e-learning (or online learning) as a preferred method of study. This popular study approach allows a person to study when they want, where they want and at a much lower cost than classroom-based training.  The ISTQB Foundation certification lends itself particularly well to online learning, as the exam is essentially a memory test, and so the concepts learned do not actually have to be applied to any scenarios. So, essentially, in order to pass this exam, all you need to do is memorize a series of testing terms and simply have a basic understanding of what they mean.

When deciding to study for the ISTQB CTFL certification, deciding which Online ISTQB Training Company to use can seem a little daunting. There are a few things you should look out for when choosing an online training course. Firstly, make sure the training course actually includes a study guide. Many so called courses are simply a selection of practice questions and so they won’t actually teach you what you need to know. Next, make sure there is some kind of tutor support included. If you have a question, you would obviously like it answered right? there is nothing worse than going to take the exam with uncertainty and not fully understanding something. Next, ensure there are a variety of exam preparation techniques included, such as questions, mind-maps, cross-words, diagrams etc.

Lastly, make sure there are at least some practice included. Some of the best e-learning ISTQB Foundation Training Courses around feature literally hundreds of practice questions. Lastly, the cost of this type of training should be much cheaper than a classroom-based course. Don’t pay more than 500 dollars / 300 UK pounds. If you don’t quite have enough, simply ask for a discount, you will be surprised at how many training courses providers will give you a discount!

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Why Choose Online ISTQB Foundation (CTFL) Training?