How pCloudy – a continuous testing platform enables high speed and qualitative mobile app testing

pCloudy is a cloud based continuous testing platform designed to enhance the quality of the mobile application under test. In this white paper, we will discuss how we can increase the speed of testing mobile apps by enabling continuous testing. We will have an overview of how we can perform manual and automation testing and list the latest features of pCloudy at the end.

Author: Prerna Bhatt, pCloudy, https://www.pcloudy.com/

The mobile app ecosystem is very dynamic. Today industries from various sectors be it healthcare, banking, legal, retail, telecommunication, transportation, education, fashion etc. use mobile apps as the primary source of communication between their customers and them. The never-ending demands of users compel the organizations to develop new and innovative features in apps. The OEMs launch new mobile devices very frequently and also new OS versions are delivered every now and then.

Developing apps having the capability of adapting diverse mobile devices available in the market, frequently updating device OS versions, is the constant challenge faced by app-centric organizations. One of the major challenges is to ensure that the mobile app is multi-platform support. The other major challenge faced by app development teams is to deliver the dynamic requirements of the users on time! This prompts the need of developing mobile apps at high speed without compromising on the quality. Otherwise, there is a high chance of customers moving to the competitors. That’s the reason why most of the organizations want to work in a fast-paced environment implementing high-end technologies like Agile, Continuous Integration and Mobile DevOps.

Continuous testing enables to increase the speed of app development while enhancing its quality. In continuous testing, testing is performed in each and every stage of the app development life cycle starting from the earliest stage ensuring high quality of the app. So as far as an app testing platform is concerned, we need technological solutions which are faster, qualitative and convenient. pCloudy is a continuous testing cloud platform developed to deliver high performing apps by ensuring quality@speed. In this white paper we will explore the features and functionalities of pCloudy.

pCloudy is a continuous testing cloud designed to enhance the quality of apps. Being a cloud-based platform it can be accessed from anywhere and anytime keeping the business continuity intact during the worst situations, providing 24/7 access and ensuring strong collaboration with teams geographically miles apart. You can perform manual and automation testing for both Android and IOS real devices. It provides more than 5000 device browser combinations allowing mobile app testing on multiple devices simultaneously. This feature helps to overcome the device fragmentation issue, allowing parallel testing (automation and manual) for apps on multiple devices with diverse combinations of specifications. pCloudy can perform automation testing with the help of several tools and framework integration like Appium, Espresso, Calabash, Jira, etc. It also supports Jenkins integration building a strong base for continuous integration and continuous testing. It supports Opkey integration which is an automation studio for performing codeless automation testing. pCloudy supports futuristic features like Certifaya based on natural language processing and predictive analytics. Certifaya provides an automated health checkup of your app and also suggests the scope of improvement for seamless performance. These features help pCloudy build a strong foundation for the seamless performance of the mobile applications under test.

Automation testing in pCloudy

How pCloudy - a continuous testing platform enables high speed and qualitative mobile app testing

We are well aware of the dynamics of the mobile app industry, and to be in the game all we need is to deliver our products on time, which demands high speed of app development. We can achieve this goal by adapting high-end technologies like continuous integration, continuous testing and Mobile DevOps. But we cannot move even a feather until the automation testing is in place. To achieve continuous testing, we need to ensure high-speed of automation testing. In pCloudy, we use various automation testing tools and frameworks like Appium, Bamboo, Calabash, Cucumber, Espresso etc.

In pCloudy, Appium is mainly used for automation testing because of its multiple benefits. Appium supports automation testing of both Android as well as IOS devices. It is an open source framework which supports testing of native, hybrid and mobile-web applications. You can write Appium scripts in all types of programming languages like C, PHP, Python, C#, Java, Ruby, JavaScript, etc. With the help of some simple steps we can easily integrate Appium with pCloudy .

Let us understand how Appium performs automation testing on mobile applications. The Appium script is converted via JSON wire protocol into Http rest based request which can be understood by the Appium Server. Now, the Appium server runs automation on the mobile application using native automation framework. There are specific frameworks supported by specific types of OS, for eg. XCUIT is supported by IOS and UIAutomator2 is supported by Android. In this way the Appium performs automation on both Android and IOS mobile devices.

Manual Testing in pCloudy

How pCloudy - a continuous testing platform enables high speed and qualitative mobile app testing

pCloudy allows efficient manual testing on both the Android and IOS Real Mobile devices. It also facilitates parallel testing on multiple devices simultaneously. It provides you with enough statistics like session video, device logs, screenshots, data usage, memory usage, CPU usage, battery consumption and frame rendering count on a rich and user-friendly user interface.

To perform manual testing, you need to upload your application on the platform. For this you can select any number of devices using filters based on requirement. There are many options for device selection. You can select and connect a device for instant action. You can also book a device if you want to use it for a longer duration.

Once you connect the device for testing, the device is displayed in the middle with some features in the left, right and top pane.

For manual testing the navigation is very simple and easy

This was a brief overview on how we can perform Manual and Automation testing in pCloudy. pCloudy believes in constant growth, so it frequently releases new and innovative features. So let’s have a look on the latest features of pCloudy and understand how these features make testing seamless.

Wildnet:

The Wildnet feature enables users to test the internal or the private server on any IOS and Android devices present in pCloudy. It is a crucial feature for enterprises as server security is a high concern for them. With wildnet no need of using the staging servers while testing mobile applications in pCloudy.

Object Spy:

This feature helps testers to extract the object names and run inspector sessions directly from the pCloudy device instead of extracting from the Appium desktop.

Data Persistent:

With the help of this feature, the pCloudy admin staff is enabled to manage the data efficiently by being able to delete all the older reports based on some settings.

Capability Configurator:

While creating automation test scripts you require certain capabilities like device name, platform version, etc. to execute the test cases. The capability filter enables to generate the desired capabilities directly using certain filters.

QR code/barcode scanner:

This feature enables the users to scan a QR present in any device available in pCloudy while testing their app. Many mobile apps use QR code scanner functions for product or user identification. It will help to find if the QR code scanner works smoothly in your app.

App Language Change:

This feature enables the users to change the language in the installed application using the “App Language Change” in their native language.

Conclusion

Mobile apps dominate the digital market and to ensure that it sustains for long amidst high competition, it is imperative to deliver high quality apps. The balance between dynamic demands and high quality delivery of mobile apps can be attained by using the right tools that can give your app an edge. pCloudy is a continuous testing cloud based platform that can be accessed from anywhere and at any time and ensures speed@quality. Testing is highly recommended for developing high quality apps.

About the Author

Prerna Bhatt is Marketing Executive at pCloudy. She is a technology geek and apart from technology she has written blogs on health, food and travelling. In her free time, you will find her amidst nature, reading or attending public seminars.

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