The keys to developing, testing and launching mobile applications that your users love
Table of Contents
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Whats At Stake?
Still think that mobile apps are for games, music and entertainment purposes only? Do you really think that mobile applications wont be relevant to your company, your team and your job a year from now? Think again. As the adoption rate increases, mobile applications will become ever more critical to the success of your business (and your career). Those who insist on waiting for further confirmation will have already been left behind. Companies that recognize this trend for what it is a technological revolution and take preemptive action to improve the quality and usability of their mobile applications, will find themselves with a tremendous advantage. Most companies will simply build a watered-down version of their website. But those who understand the implications of the mobile boom and who understand all of the feats this technology is capable of will build applications with enduring popularity. Which side will YOU be on? This mindset is essential. In order to take the steps required for developing and launching a quality mobile app, you will need to believe in what youre doing. If you think mobile apps are simply a passing fad, it will be reflected in your businesses and products. Your users are counting on you. Dont let them down.
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Mobile Web
Native Apps
vs.
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Mobile Web
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Native Apps
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vs.
User Testimonials
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Theres a long way to go, and the concepts the WAC are working towards are ambitious to say the least, but the steps theyve taken so far seem to be the right ones.
- MobileMarketing.com
Mobile Alternatives
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Other Considerations
Mobile devices are evolving into increasingly sophisticated general purpose computers. This has led to the development of a variety of platforms and operating systems. Today, the operating system inside your mobile device is as equally important as the device manufacturer (OEM). The various features, GUI, processing speed, and most importantly, the applications available for your device will depend greatly on the underlying OS, as well as the carrier and OEM.
Device Manufacturers
Operating Systems
Carriers
Mobile Decisions
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Mobile Marketshare
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Mobile Constants
No matter which route you choose native apps or the mobile web certain tasks and backend functionality will remain a constant, including: API / web services Architecture Database
Mobile Fact
Consumer conversion (from surf to purchase) on iPhone or Android native apps is 3X - 10X times that of mobile web sites Why? Because users are more comfortable with the device. In most cases, the usability of the native app, including page load speed, is much greater than the mobile web.
The key lesson here is that app quality begins before coding or testing. You should start by reviewing the makeup of your users. What features and functionality do they want? What types of information are they trying to access? And most importantly, how can you reach them on their terms?
Other key decisions that every mobile company will have to make include: Static content vs. rich content Commerce vs. functionality
Mobile Constants
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Mobile Stats
51% of iPhone owners have five or more games installed on their devices
37% of iPhone owners play games at least once per day puzzle games are the most popular
46% of Blackberry owners have NO games on their device at all
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User Loyalty
While most will tolerate a minor glitch, studies show that many wont hang around if they are disappointed with the performance of a mobile app or website. And the damage doesnt stop there. Word-of-mouth will ensure any bad experiences are soon broadcast. - Helen Leggatt, BizReport.com
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Its this line of thinking that continues to define the way in which many mobile companies deal with their testing objectives.
Cons: While outsourcing has certainly proven to be less expensive than hiring an internal team, developers who contracted with such firms quickly ran into the same limits as that of their in-house teams while losing what little control they had over the QA process. And for what? With no insight into the day-today testing activities, how could these developers expect to improve their application in a timely manner? Developers must remain close to their application at all times, which is antithetical to the outsourcing mentality. And as it turns out, even the largest of traditional outsourcing firms dont have the resources needed to provide adequate testing coverage required by todays mobile environment. Just like their clients, they cannot easily (or affordably) test an app across dozens of handset makers, models, carriers, languages and locations. Plus, the testers employed by these offshore firms are unlikely to be among the target audience for a companys mobile apps.
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The mobile app testing matrix is infinitely complex and getting worse
Features
Location
Language
No matter what type of mobile applications you develop whether theyre chat tools, social networking, games, business apps or others you face the same fundamental problems encountered by all mobile app developers. Lets now take a quick look at how mobile app developers have attempted to deal with these problems
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What is Crowdsourcing?
"Crowdsourcing is the act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent (usually an employee) and outsourcing it to a large group of people in the form of an open call. - Jeff Howe Author of Crowdsourcing
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Customer approves
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Mobile Challenges
Mobile applications come with their own unique set of challenges. Between Wi-Fi, 3G, Edge and all their different behaviors, there are so many angles you have to cover. Until recently, testing for this criteria would have been impossible, but crowdsourcing has changed all that.
-Travis McElfresh, -VP of Technology, 1Cast
Crowdsourcing Challenges
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Why It Works
Because crowdsourcing is built from the open source template, any company looking to leverage computer professionals has the advantage of an audience already familiar with the basic idea of community production. -Jeff Howe Journalist, Wired.com
Benefits of Crowdsourcing
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In-the-Wild Testing
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Conclusion
Testing no longer has to be a neglected phase of mobile application development. There was a time when the testing matrix was indeed too complex, too burdensome to be completed using standard means. But thanks to the rapid evolution of crowdsourced testing, all that has now changed. The companies that are now leveraging crowdsourced testing - particularly in the mobile space - are gaining more of a competitive advantage than they perhaps even realize. As the mobile market doubles and triples in size over the next decade, those that have made testing coverage a priority will enjoy their ROI in terms of increased market share, profitability and above all, user loyalty. Those who continue to neglect the testing phase will struggle at best, and at worst, cease to exist. Its that simple. Either way, the future of mobile applications remains bright. Once reserved for a tech-savvy niche in the business world, the use of mobile applications is now firmly entrenched in the mainstream. Theres no turning back when it comes to mobile applications, and that includes methods for testing them. For more on how crowdsourcing can complete your mobile testing efforts, chat with one of our QA gurus by clicking here or by calling 800.445.3914.
Crowdsourced Capacity
Small development firms have limited means today to beta test and peer review their applications with a cross section of representative users. Given the hundreds of thousands of mobile apps, we believe that efficient (crowd-sourced) testing of apps in a global market of users is considerably under-utilized. - VisionMobile
Summary
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Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Bernard Lelchuk, Brad Sellick, Jigar Patel and Anuj
Gupta for their contributions to this eBook.
Whos Crowdsourcing?
About uTest
The number of mobile app companies using crowdsourced testing is growing everyday. Headquartered near Boston, uTest is the world's largest marketplace for software testing Heres a few companies ahead of the curve: services. The company provides real-world QA services through its community of 40,000+ professional testers from over 170 countries around the world. Thousands of companies from web start-ups to enterprise software firms - have signed up to get their apps tested by the uTest community. uTest enables companies to launch higher quality products; get their desktop, web and mobile applications to market faster; and control the cost of testing. Customers specify their testing requirements for location, language, OS, browser and more and uTest selects the testers who best match each project. And because uTest is on-demand, companies pay for completed test cycles. A brief online introduction is available at www.utest.com/demo. uTest can be contacted at: uTest, Inc. 153 Cordaville Road Southborough, MA 01772 p: 1.800.445.3914 e: info@utest.com w: www.utest.com
About uTest
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