Android Automated Testing and Manual Testing: Which Approach to Follow?

Software companies use two testing strategies: automated and manual. Android automated testing requires no human interaction as code is automatically executed and reported. On the other hand, manual mobile testing involves human interaction with the app under different conditions or situations to analyze how it responds.

In the last decade, the growth of Android was whopping, which is very evident if you look at the stats. In 2009, Android shared only 3.9% of the total market, which has grown to over 72% in the last 10 years.

Talking about the current trend, almost everyone planning to develop a website goes for developing an Android app. The reason behind this surge in the Android market is that it is easy to customize or develop an app, has a wide range of features, and Android devices are cost-friendly.

With the rise in the development requirement for Android apps, the testing of Android applications has also increased to sustain in a competitive market. There are tons of devices and Android versions available that your application must be compatible with.

Android Application Testing Strategy

Android applications must be tested thoroughly to ensure they are stable, secure, and perform as expected. Developing an Android application testing strategy takes several steps to create an ideal testing strategy.

1. Unit Tests – For verifying a minimal unit of source code

2. Integration Tests – For testing operations between different application modules

3. Operational Tests – For testing the correctness of app requirement

4. System Tests – For testing the entire app in the real environment

The QA teams can execute automated tests to test the mobile app, and humans can use the app under different conditions or situations to analyze how it responds through manual mobile testing for two approaches to testing mobile applications.

Learn more about automating ui tests here.

Manual and automated testing in android both have their benefits and drawbacks, so it’s helpful to compare the two. Let’s take a closer look at what each method can offer.

Android App Manual Testing

If you need to bring a degree of variation in the tests, Manual Testing is the go-to option. Mobile app development organizations need to leverage manual testing for Android application testing to deliver an exceptional user experience. Despite the endless benefits of automated Android app testing, you will always have testing scenarios that require human intervention.

Android App Manual Testing is Best Suited For:

Android App Manual Testing is a way to check if an app works as it should. It means going through the different things you can do with the app and ensuring it does what it’s supposed to. This testing helps find bugs or problems with the code before you put the app out there for everyone to use. It also checks that all features are working correctly and that changes haven’t caused anything unexpected.

The following are the best test scenarios for which android manual testing is the best used for:

1. Usability Testing:

You can’t determine how user-friendly your application is without manual testing, as human observation is crucial in determining the quality of an app in terms of ease of use or usability.

2. Exploratory Testing:

Exploratory testing is performed as black-box testing and requires knowledge, experience, intuition, analysis, and creativity.

3. Ad-hoc Testing:

Ad-hoc testing is an unstructured or informal testing where the tester’s understanding matters more than anything else.

Manual testing provides quality feedback on usability, functionality, and appearance. A manual tester plays a crucial role in testing an application similar to a real user. It can give you a better idea of the application’s behavior and help fix high-priority errors.

For Example, Manual testing can be used to see if the buttons are in the correct position, have the ideal size or color, and overlap.

Despite its advantages, manual testing has many limitations, such as; Longer testing procedures are tiresome and subject to human errors. So the best alternative for repetitive testing, i.e., automated testing. This reduces the burden of manual testers and reserves them for other vital areas with human dependency.

Android Automated Testing

Android automated testing executes pre-scripted tests before an android application gets released to production. Automated android tests might take time and effort for the first run. Still, it is viable if the testing has to be repeated, as it can run multiple tests simultaneously. It helps the QAs reduce the time spent on testing during the different development stages.

Android Automated Testing is the best for:

Android Automated testing is an excellent way for developers to ensure their apps are working correctly. It can check many things, from the basics to more complicated stuff. By automating testing, developers can save time that would have been spent manually checking, allowing them to find mistakes and problems quickly. Furthermore, automated tests can be run on multiple devices simultaneously, enabling developers to observe how their apps work on different versions of Android OS. This helps them ensure their app works with all phones and tablets.

The following are the best test scenarios for which android automated testing is the best used for:

1. Repeated Execution:

Repeated Execution is a type of automated testing that involves running the same tests multiple times to ensure the accuracy and reliability of results. It is used to verify that software functions correctly after changes have been made, or when new features are added. This type of testing is essential for applications requiring high accuracies and reliability levels, such as banking or medical applications.

Repeated execution can be done manually by running the same test cases repeatedly, but this approach requires a lot of time and effort. Automation tools are available to help streamline the process and make it more efficient. These tools allow testers to set up test scenarios, run them automatically, and compare results quickly. This helps reduce the time needed to complete the testing process while ensuring accuracy.

2. Regression Testing:

As regression testing demands frequent code changes, automated testing works well for running regression tests quickly. This process makes it easier to run tests multiple times with less effort and helps avoid mistakes that can happen when doing manual testing. Automated tests can be used to make sure apps work correctly, perform well, and are secure.

Automation testing helps developers quickly find issues and bugs in their code that they would have missed when doing manual testing. Also, automation testing gives detailed reports on how the app is performing and assists developers in making their products better. Automated tests benefit big projects or complicated tasks involving several steps or processes. By automating these tasks, developers save time and money while ensuring their results are accurate and consistent.

3. Performance Testing:

Automation makes more sense when you are testing the performance or speed of your Android application against thousands of concurrent users.

Automated testing is easily scalable for larger mobile apps and is more cost-efficient compared to manual testing in the long run. But creating automated test scripts is time-consuming, and impossible to automate every test scenario. Hence it makes sense to select the test cases you want to automate.

Which Android Testing Approach to Follow?

Ideally, automated testing should be clubbed with manual testing to ensure the overall quality of your Android applications. While manual testing takes care of the user experience, automated testing aims to resolve the app’s key functionalities.

If you skip test automation, you will get low test coverage, low accuracy, and delayed results & feedback. On the other hand, if you skip manual testing, entire categories of feedback concerning the user experience will be ignored due to a lack of human exploration. Test cases such as exploratory and UI/UX tests should be kept for manual testing.

The best scenario would be using automated testing to test the core functionality of the Android application, which gives ample time for manual exploration of key features and user experience.

Testsigma allows you to quickly create tests with near-zero initial setup time and cost to get you started. It comes with an in-built object recognition tool that can be leveraged for seamless object recognition while UI identifier objects are created. The tool ensures continuous delivery of an uninterrupted Android app experience for its customers through its easy and efficient Android application testing tool.

Why Opt for Android Automated Testing?

Automated Android testing is a great way to save time and effort when testing an Android app. It allows for tests to be run quickly and efficiently so that you can get your app out faster and more often – especially important in competitive industries.

Automated testing can improve your Android app by finding and getting rid of bugs and other problems before releasing it. Doing this can make your app more enjoyable for users, which will make them happier with it. Ultimately, automated testing is a smart move for developers and businesses who want to make their apps run smoothly.

Factors to consider for Android App Automation Testing

There are several important factors to consider when it comes to Android app automation testing. Here are some key points to keep in mind:

1. Testing Tools: It’s essential to pick the right tools for automated testing. There are a few options for Android apps like Appium, Espresso and Robotium. Each has different advantages and disadvantages, so think about what features you need, how easy they are to use, and if they’re compatible with your app before deciding which one is best for you.
2. Test Cases: Creating test cases for automation testing is important for your Android app. Make sure you identify the most important features and make tests that cover all the possible scenarios. This will help make sure your app works perfectly and has no problems.
3. Test Environment: It’s important to create the right testing environment to get accurate results. Make sure everything is the same as what it will be in production, like the hardware, software, network, and database. This way, everything will stay stable and consistent.
4. Test Data: Test data’s quality and reliability can impact automated testing’s effectiveness. Choose relevant and realistic test data to ensure your app functions correctly under real-world conditions.
5. Maintenance: Automated testing must be taken care of to ensure the test cases stay up-to-date and useful. Check and change your test cases often so that they keep giving you accurate results.

Best Practices for Android App Automated Testing

1. Early Start: find and fix any problems early on, so you don’t have to spend more time or money trying to fix them later.
2. Test Environment: Create a consistent testing space that is the same as the production environment. This means ensuring everything is the same, including hardware, software, network connections, and databases.
3. Test Cases: Create tests covering all the app’s important features. Doing this can help you find and fix any mistakes or problems before it’s too late.
4. Prioritize Tests: Make sure to focus on the most important tests first. This will help make sure that the most important parts of the app are tested properly.
5. Automate Tests: Try to make your testing process as efficient as possible by automating any tests you often do. This will help you save time and energy and ensure your testing is always the same.
6. Choose the Right Tools: It’s important to pick the right tools for testing your app. This will ensure the tests are accurate and get the job done properly.
7. Test on Real Devices: Try out the app on actual phones, tablets, etc., to make sure it works well in real-life situations.

Check out these 11 Best Automation Tools For Mobile Testing! Testsigma makes it super easy to do integration testing on your Android app – no coding knowledge or skills are required. Even testers and subject matter experts can write automated tests using plain English.

Testsigma understands the importance of testing an Android application on a wide range of devices and platforms to give users a seamless experience and hence gives you complete access to over 2000 real Android and iOS mobile devices and tablets that are fast, accurate, and always available to test your application in and out.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Automate Testing in Android?

Android testing can be automated using frameworks and tools like Espresso, Appium, and Robolectric. These give you options to check different parts of an Android app like the user interface, database stuff, and API connections. To do the automation, developers write out test scripts in these frameworks and tools then use build tools such as Gradle to make it happen.

Automation Tools for Mobile Testing?

Several popular automation tools for mobile testing include Appium, Espresso, and Robotium. These tools provide a range of features to test various aspects of an Android app, including user interfaces, database interactions, and API integrations. Some of these tools offer cross-platform support, allowing developers to test their apps on Android and iOS devices.

What is Automated Testing in Android?

Automated testing in Android uses tools and frameworks to check if an app works as it should. It involves writing and running scripts to ensure the app functions properly, dashes and is reliable. Automated testing can help find and fix any problems with the app so that it meets the quality standards it needs to.

What are the Types of Automated Unit Tests in Android?

You can use several types of automated tests when creating an Android app.

• Unit Tests check that individual pieces of code, like methods and functions, work as expected.
• Integration Tests ensure different parts, like classes and components, work together correctly.
• System Tests check the whole app to see if the user interface, databases, and APIs all function properly.
• Acceptance Tests ensure that your app meets what users expect – this includes usability, accessibility, and performance.