Mobile App Performance Testing Guide With Checklist (2024)

When it comes to building robust mobile applications, mobile app performance testing is a crucial step in the process. Depending on the kind of industry, mobile applications have become popular ever since the COVID-19 pandemic. Industries like Food Delivery and Finance have seen a respective growth of 164% and 77%  in the use of their app since 2020. Needless to say the success of a business in any field, these days, depends on the success of its user-friendly mobile apps. So here we have prepared an efficient mobile application testing checklist for 2024! 

Introduction to Mobile App Performance Testing

Performance testing for mobile applications is more of a recent practice these days. About a decade ago, when businesses created mobile apps, they did so to offer the features of a desktop website in the format of an application. But those days are long gone. Now mobile applications are becoming more efficient, advanced, and fast to give the user an unforgettable experience. Only the applications that perform under a variety of technical environments and network conditions are the ones that stand out in the market. Therefore, it is extremely important to ensure that the mobile apps are vetted by professionals before it is released into the market!

Importance of Mobile Application Performance Testing

Mobile application performance testing is crucial as it ensures that the application that is being built, is robust, secure, reliable, scalable, and more. Plus, in a world of Android and iOS, it is important to make sure that your app is ready for users on both operating systems. In the first quarter of 2023, 27 billion apps were downloaded from the Google Play Store.

Additionally, in the same quarter, the Apple App Store generated a revenue of 8.1 Billion. It shows how mobile applications are key markers of a company’s success. Therefore, mobile app performance testing by an experienced performance engineer is equally relevant. Some other reasons why it is important are:

• Cross-Device Compatibility: With the advent of several devices with a variety of specifications, businesses need to test whether their app is compatible with each one of them or not. It is particularly the Android devices that come with such versatility. So mobile app performance testing helps ensure that the product is compatible with all sorts of devices.
• Compatibility with Network variability: Checking or testing the performance of a mobile application under various network conditions like high-speed wifi or low mobile data helps ensure that the application delivers seamless performance. Mobile app performance testing is done with the same intention.
• Identifying bottlenecks beforehand: It is a crucial factor that if any application or software gets released into the marketplace with bottlenecks it can cause severe repercussions. To avoid such serious failures, mobile application performance testing is the only way to go. It helps identify bottlenecks beforehand so that they can be resolved.
• Quality-testing of the application: Mobile application performance testing is also done for quality assurance. It ensures that only the best-performing application is released into the market.
• Compliance with Guidelines: Before an application is released into the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, compliance with the guidelines is necessary. While performing testing, the tester ensures that the app complies with it.

Key Performance Testing Metrics For Mobile Applications

Several types of key performance testing metrics need to be considered for performance testing. When it comes to mobile application testing the metrics that are paid attention to are:

• App Launch Time: This metric refers to the amount of time that an application under test requires to start and become responsive for the users.
• Screen Rendering Performance: This metric is used to understand and identify how fast the screen loads and how smooth the display is. 
• Battery Usage: This metric refers to the amount of battery that it consumes during an operation.
• Memory Usage: It refers to the amount of memory (RAM) that the app utilizes while on a device.
• CPU Utilization: It refers to the amount of the device’s CPU that the app utilizes.
• Network Usage: Network usage in mobile app testing refers to the amount of data that the application can send and receive under a particular network condition.
• Crash Rate: It refers to the frequency at which the application crashes or fails under extreme load situations.
• Load Capacity: It refers to the amount of load or the users that the application can handle simultaneously.
• Touch and Responsiveness: This performance metric helps understand how the app responds to the touch of the users.
• Compatibility with OS: Since there are several different types of operating systems, mobile app testing helps ensure that the app is compatible with all of them.

Mobile App Performance Testing Tools

To test the mobile applications performance testers need a bunch of tools. These tools are Appium, XCTest and Espresso, Apache JMeter, Calabash, MonkeyRunner, Android Profiler, Gatling, and more. Each of these tools has its features and unique strength points. The choice of tools for your performance testing requirement will depend utterly on what are the metrics that you have pre-defined for the test. For instance, to test the real-time insight into the CPU, memory, and network usage of Android apps, an Android Profiler should be used. 

Key Challenges in Mobile App Performance Testing

Mobile App Testing is not an easy job. There are certain challenges that the testers face. Let’s discuss what they are and how to overcome them:

A. Addressing Fragmentation of Mobile Devices and Platforms

One of the challenges that performance testers face during mobile app performance testing is to test it across a variety of devices. The presence of different kinds of devices, especially in the Android ecosystem, with different Specifications, OS versions, Screen Sizes, Network types, Platforms, etc. is a really big challenge.

B. Handling Dynamic Network Conditions

Most of the apps are dependent on the availability of good network conditions. Even if apps are improved to work under slow mobile network conditions, the geography in which these network towers are located is out of anybody’s hands. Ensuring an app will run smoothly in a slow internet zone, is also one of the biggest challenges that performance engineers face. 

C. Replicating Real-World Scenarios

Diversifying the real-world scenario is another challenge in performance testing for apps. Generating various kinds of load conditions on the application is possible, but in the real world, new situations come up that are mostly unforeseen. Replicating such scenarios beforehand is truly challenging for a performance tester.

D. Dealing with Peak Loads and User Spikes

Even though performance testing is wholly about dealing with peak loads and users spike, it is very often difficult to gauge the amount of load that should be generated to not harm the system. There are instances when owing to the generation of very heavy load the system has got damaged and needed a lot of re-work done. 

E. Balancing Performance with Functionality

Lastly, balancing the test between performance and functionality is also something that is a challenge in mobile app testing. Performance testing is a non-functional test conducted on the system to check how it behaves under various scenarios. But sometimes, during the identification of bottlenecks, testers need to go deeper and find out the cause of its coding. That fine line between testing the code and testing the behavior of the system is a bit challenging during performance testing of mobile apps.

How to Do Mobile App Performance Testing?

There are several steps involved in mobile app performance testing. It is important to have a thorough step-by-step procedure prepared to ensure that the test runs smoothly. Let’s have a look at them one by one:

Clear Objectives and Requirements: It is the first and most important step in any kind of performance testing. A tester is responsible for collaborating with the stakeholders and other teams to collect as much information possible, about the project, before he/she starts working on the product. So having a clear objective is very important and needs to be done first!

Research the Application: The tester needs to understand the application. A tester must not start working on the application right away. He/she should ensure that they have done enough research on the application before they start.

Select Appropriate Tools: The next thing is to select the right tools for your test. One must keep in mind that there are thousands of tools available. One must make sure that the right tools are selected with their efficiency tested beforehand.

Setting Up Test Cases and Environment: The next step is to prepare the scripts to create the test cases and scenarios replicating the real-world users. 

Test Execution: In this step, the tester is responsible for running the tests as per the planning of the test. According to the set objectives, the tests should be prioritized one after the other.  

Analyzing Test Findings: In this step, the findings of the tests are analyzed. Bottlenecks are inspected in this stage, along with their root cause and probable solutions.

Reporting Test Results: In this last step, the reports are handed over to the team of developers with all the progress reports and bottlenecks. Stakeholders are also looped in, in this final step of the testing.

[Also Read: 8 Steps to an Effective Performance Testing Strategy]

Mobile Application Testing Checklist For Performance Testing

So it is understandable that performance testing for mobile applications is an absolute necessity. According to Google, 70% of users switch to a different app if the one they are using is too slow. So here is a handy mobile application checklist that can ensure the best user experience for your customers:

Load Time/App Responsiveness: Load time or app responsiveness are two factors that directly impact the user experience. It is advised that these two factors are never overlooked during mobile app performance testing.

Battery/Memory Usage: An efficient mobile application should be smooth running and lightweight. Nobody likes to use an app that takes up all the space on their mobile devices. Therefore, one must make sure that the app they are testing does not take up a lot of battery or memory usage.

Stability of the system: It is also very important to check how the system under test handles the crashes and failures. An ideal app should be able to turn back on and stabilize itself without losing any data within a few minutes. But if an application is taking a lot of time, then the tester must report it to the developers to improve the stability of the system.

Security and Compliance: Lastly, the application should be secure enough to not leak any vital data of the users. Plus, the tester must ensure that the app is platform-ready for stores like Google Play Store and App Store, by being compliant with its rules and regulations. 

Inevitable Infotech For Mobile App Performance Testing

Finding the right mobile app performance testing company can be a difficult task. That is why you can opt for Inevitable Infotech’s mobile application testing services. Here at Inevitable, you can access our highly skilled and knowledgeable team of testers, engineers, and developers who will not only make your task easy but also make sure that the application under test is of the highest functionality.

Our team of testers is vetted through a five-step selection process before they are onboarded. This helps us select the right person who can put their knowledge into application while also stepping into the shoes of end-users to test your product. 

Conclusion

Mobile app testing is a complex possess and it is advised to be approached in a proper strategic manner. By leveraging the right tools and the right team you can ensure that the product you release into the market is of the highest quality. So don’t just make an application, set benchmarks in the industry by offering outstanding user experience.