The great strides in digital technology have made available to users, multiple platforms from which to operate various apps. In a world where customer is king, it’s vital to ensure superior user satisfaction, irrespective of which platform the user chooses to use. User satisfaction is what decides the fate of the app, and it is in the wake of this truth, that Cross Platform Testing becomes pivotal to app success. This blog will therefore explore this important aspect of app testing, in its various facets.
Understanding Cross Platform Testing
Before we move to Cross Platform Testing, let’s get to basics. A drill down reveals that a Platform pertains to the environment in which apps are developed and run, thus providing the foundation on which apps can be executed and operated by end users. A Platform can be a combination of different operating systems, browsers, and devices.
Cross Platform Testing, therefore involves ensuring that software apps consistently work as expected, irrespective of the diverse operating systems, devices, browsers, hardware configurations, assistive tools, and runtime environments that the end-user may decide to use. Its goal is to assess and ensure that various aspects of the app, including its functionality, usability, and user interface, function as per user expectations under diverse environments.
The complexity of Cross Platform Testing lies in the fact, that it requires testing of apps on diverse platforms, which can be any combination of the following factors:
Operating Systems: e.g., Windows, MacOS, Linux; Mobile operating systems like iOS and Android.
Browsers: Web Browsers like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Opera, and others.
Cloud Computing Platforms like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform.
Devices: Smartphones, Tablets, Laptops, and Desktops.
Assistive Tools: Ensuring that the website is compatible with assistive technologies like screen readers for individuals who are differently abled.
When is Cross Browser Testing Needed and Who Does It?
Cross Browser Testing is needed at the Development stage, where Developers in Continuous Integration pipelines, test new features to make sure they are compatible across platforms, before releasing the amendments to production.
Cross Platform Testing is also required at the Pre-Release stage, where QA teams execute test scenarios on multiple platforms, to make sure the build meets platform compatibility benchmarks. UI teams too, have a part to play by running Cross Platform Tests, to check on the app’s front-end functioning and visual appeal on different devices and orientations.
Thus Cross Browser Testing is a must, to generate confidence in the app’s functioning at Development stage, Pre-Release stage, and even post-launch, when the app gets updated, or whenever there’s a change in OS or browser version. Ensuring that every release has no compatibility issues related to browsers, operating systems, or devices is thus an ongoing need.
The Importance of Cross Platform Testing
The value of Cross Platform Testing arises from the fact that we live in an imperfect world, and hence though all browsers have to be in sync with Open Web Standards, yet reality reveals that they don’t, perhaps due to different interpretations of the standards. Hence, apps that work perfectly well on one browser or even a few browsers, may not necessarily work as expected on all browsers, as each of them render HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in distinct ways. In fact, there is no guarantee, that if the app works well on a browser, it will work the same way on a different version of the very same browser! It’s against this background, that in order to guarantee app success, Cross Platform Testing becomes vital.
Furthermore, there is extensive device fragmentation too, apart from different operating systems and versions of these. Remember, that app users may choose any combination of browser (or version of it), operating system (or version of it), and device (with extensive fragmentation). Any combination that does not support the app’s working, can translate into those users abandoning the app. This is not something any app can afford, in a world where digital competition is so high! App success cannot become a reality without thorough Cross Platform Testing. Herein lies the important co-relation between meticulous Cross-Platform Testing, user satisfaction, and consequently app success.
Components of Cross Platform Testing
From the foregoing treatise, it becomes clear, that Cross Platform Testing revolves around the following areas:
- Testing on Various Operating Systems
Verifying app compatibility with various operating systems – Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.
- Testing on Various Browsers
Verifying functionality across various web browsers – Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Opera, and other less frequently used ones.
- Testing on Multiple Devices
Ensuring compatibility with different devices – Smartphones, Tablets, Laptops, and Desktops.
- Testing on Cloud Computing Platforms
Verifying app’s proper functioning on Cloud Computing Platforms like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform.
- Version Testing
Testing the application on different versions of operating systems, browsers, and devices, to ensure backward and forward compatibility.
Overview of the Cross Platform Testing Process
Presenting a framework of essential steps involved in Cross Platform Testing.
- Outline Scope of Cross Platform Testing
Determine which platforms, browsers, and devices the app needs to be tested on.
- Prioritize Platforms
Rank platforms and devices according to the expected frequency of usage by target audience, giving testing priority to high frequency usage platforms, but not totally ignoring outliers either.
- Automate Testing
Automated testing tools should be employed to streamline and speed up the testing process and simultaneously increase test coverage.
- Continuous Integration
Integrating Cross Platform Testing into CI/CD pipelines, to detect bugs early in the SDLC.
- Real Device Testing
Preferably test on real devices rather than emulators or simulators, to ensure results are closer to reality.
- Responsive Design
Confirm the app’s functionality, responsiveness, and visual consistency on different screen sizes and resolutions.
- User Feedback
Encourage user feedback from the various platforms, to identify any escaped bugs and glitches; and act on the feedback at the earliest.
Benefits of Cross Platform Testing
Cross Platform Testing has a technical emphasis, and yet it brings app owners commercial benefits too, through the technicalities it focuses on, as explained below:
- Superior User Experience is generated by ensuring consistent app functioning across different platforms. This increases user loyalty, resulting in higher customer retention, and potentially attracting new users too.
- Boosts Market Reach by ensuring that multiple platforms are supported by the app. The enhanced visibility increases the company’s market reach.
- Ensures Compatibility as Cross Platform Testing identifies and fixes compatibility issues early, thus increasing confidence in the app’s functionality. This is conducive to increased app adoption and potentially higher revenues.
- Enhances Performance via pre-testing of the app’s functioning in various environments. This in turn contributes to app acceptance, success, and user retention.
- Usability Ensured by checking that the app is usable and accessible on various devices and screen sizes, which in turn makes the app accessible to a wider audience.
In conclusion, Cross Platform Testing is a mandatory part of testing Mobile and Web apps in today’s competitive, technologically volatile digital world. Cross Platform Testing meticulously done, can reap benefits beyond the technical realm, and promote business interests. It is true that Cross Platform Testing can be quite daunting, but with the right testing tools, you can breathe easy.
Looking for a good Cross Platform Automation Tool? Let’s introduce you to BOTm.
BOTm – Doyens of Mobile and Web App Testing
BOTm has been launched with a clear directive to make every Mobile and Web Application Testing experience – a “Delightful Testing Experience”. As a service provider, our intent is to help businesses and app developers bring their apps to the market, faster than ever before, to reap first mover advantages.
BOTm's Cross Platform Testing Tool helps you test across new and old versions of IE, Edge, Safari, Chrome and Firefox, on Windows and MacOS. It helps you take screenshots manually on different screen resolutions. Our constantly updated personal cloud of browsers, are instantly accessible anytime you need it.
BOTm Advantages:
- 5X Productivity
- Truly Codeless Testing
- Farm of Real Devices
- Power of AI and ML
- Excellent Insights and Analysis
- Quick Ramp Up Time
- Saves Your Resources
- Frees You to Focus on Your Business Goals.
Visit botmtesting.com. Check out the Free Trial that will help you verify the power of our AI and ML driven platform’s error-free app testing, which is the result of our in-built state-of-the-art app testing technologies.
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