Apps, Servers, Networks

For many domains, mobile devices have overtaken the PC as users’ main computing device and means of accessing the Internet. Hence, having a mobile app or website that works and functions as expected isn’t good enough anymore. It’s got to be fast. On top of that, Google’s search algorithms heavily reward those with premium performance.

Evaluating and testing the performance of a mobile application is not as straight forward as evaluating and testing the performance of traditional web-based solutions as there are several other variables such as application structure (browser versus native), network used, payload structure, etc. that have to be accounted for.

For Mobile Performance Testing we decompose the testing activities as follows:

  1. Client application performance
  2. Server performance
  3. Network performance

In this context, we cover each of these aspects through a series of webinars and papers.

Mobile Client Application Performance

Webinar

Because the landscape for mobile device configurations, network connectivity and mobile application frameworks is constantly changing, organizations should frequently re-examine their thinking and practices for optimizing a mobile application. This webinar on Client Application Performance Testing provides insights into the following:

  • Why mobile performance testing is important
  • A general understanding of the issues related to mobile performance testing
  • Hands-on tips and tricks for performance testing a mobile client application.

White Paper

Evaluating and testing the performance of a mobile application requires a holistic approach covering variables such as application structure (browser versus native), network used, payload structure, etc. One of the more critical concerns is mobile user experience, and a primary component of the user experience relies on the performance of the application. In this white paper, “How Fast Can Angry Birds Run?”, we provide details and real-world examples for:

  1. Determining Test Objectives and Parameters
  2. Cross-verification with multiple tools in order to weed out any inconsistent performance characteristics
  3. Review and Analysis of Results in Drawing Actionable Conclusions

Mobile Server Performance

Mobile browser-based performance is usually heavily dependent on both network and server application performance. Since server issues are very similar for mobile and websites, we generally recommend beginning with the server testing. Once the server has shown to be stable and performing well, then you can continue on to performance testing of the network.

Webinar

A good baseline resource for mobile server performance testing is the webinar given by XBOSoft’s Senior Quality Consultant Alan Trefzger. In this Server Performance Testing Webinar, Alan addresses:

  • Where to start in analyzing server performance.
  • How to best test the performance of the server and how to use the results of these tests to improve mobile user experience.
  • Guidelines on how to design content delivery in the server to minimize performance problems.

White Paper

To supplement Alan’s webinar, XBOSoft’s White Paper on Mobile Performance – Testing the Server addresses the following key aspects of server testing providing real-life examples and details for each:

  1. Proxy Servers – know what is going on behind the scenes
  2. Simple comparison tests to start and recommended tool(s)
  3. Analysis of server performance. What does the data really say!
  4. Server Load Testing
  5. Server mobile site optimization

Mobile Network Performance

A mobile application may behave differently on different networks as network protocols impact throughput and delays. For example, carriers sometimes place overhead on data transmission causing network latency to vary, and latency is dependent on the application in how efficient it is in its transmission method-algorithms, and the amount of data transmitted as well (often referred to as payload). Depending on how much of the application and its data resides on the local device versus the server application, network performance may have an oversized impact on the user’s perception of performance.

Webinar

In this webinar, “Best Practices on Mobile Performance Testing“, our CEO Phil Lew and guest panelist James Pulley, address best practices in minimizing data flows across client handheld devices, how to use network impairment to fix single user performance issues, and how to minimize the impact upon desktop users under high mobile user loads.

Mobile Performance As A Key Element of Mobile Test Strategy

Just as software ate the world, so is mobile as it not only becomes a dominant platform, but also has given rise to many ‘mobile first’ businesses or organizations that have a mobile only strategy. Mobile devices and their ever-increasing processing power and capabilities have changed the way we do business. This has forced mobile applications to deliver complex functionality on mobile platforms leading to several issues such as:

  • Mobile devices have limited computing resources.
  • Mobile applications are expected to be as reliable as the PC-based applications that enterprise users have become used to.
  • Mobile users have no time to learn how to use them, so the applications must be instantly understandable.
  • Mobile ecosystems are comprised of diverse hardware, software, and network configurations that present unique challenges in application development and deployment. To overcome these issues combined with performance problems can be a daunting task in developing priorities and an overall approach. Thus, the need for a mobile testing strategy.

White Paper

In this white paper, Developing a Mobile Testing Strategy, you’ll discover:

  • How to address these problems with a comprehensive QA strategy through a general framework for mobile application testing
  • How to develop an overall mobile testing approach and strategy to meet immediate and future needs in this dynamic environment