We are currently expanding the Mobile testing Centre of Excellence (MCoE) to provide a fully managed digital testing lab, including new tooling and broader targeted testing on browser, mobile and IofT (internet of things) technologies.
The Mobile CoE is open and integrated to allow a tool-agnostic approach to testing. This is accomplished by using a common test automation framework, which allows a variety of manual and test automation technologies to coexist and share resources and a common management framework for mobile devices and digital assets.
Mobile CoE and Mobile Test Lab
The purpose of the Mobile CoE and Mobile Test Lab is to provide a “device as a service” allowing the client access to a test target, test environment, a tester with relevant experience from anywhere using a common desktop browser. With mouse clicks, drags or swipe actions on the browser, a user has control of a real device and immediately sees the screen output as if that device was right in the tester’s hands. This type of technology enables testing on real devices for both manual and automated testing, capturing screen shots, video, device vitals or network profile information for easy defect tracking and triage – and a developer can also access the very same test device and perform remote debugging on the real platform.
Mobile CoE
The Mobile CoE supports mobile simulators, real mobile devices, virtual desktops and other IofT devices in a mix of on-site lab and third-party hosted labs all tied together in a single automation framework. This scalable environment can be modified to support concurrent testing projects by adding the required testing targets, and assets can be relocated once projects are completed, resulting in a cost model that meets project delivery timelines rather than long-term subscription pricing that may not reflect a larger organization’s needs.
The core configuration of the MCoE provides 30 reference devices – a mix of iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows in both phone and tablet forms. This library of devices is proactively managed and updated in accordance with client project needs and industry best practices. The CoE is managed as a shared infrastructure, although if client project requirements dictate dedicated devices for specific project needs, QA Consultants will ensure that specific devices for the project are procured and will establish device management rules to segregate these devices from other ongoing testing projects.
The Mobile CoE is more than a hosted test lab as it provides testing services to address the needs of mobile and digital testing that fall outside the capabilities of traditional test automation. The QA Consultants MCoE – delivered to customers as a fully managed service – provides the following benefits.
Procurement and management of all mobile devices, ensuring they are:
- fully charged and ready for use
- refreshed to a clean state
- updated to proper OS and patch as required
- connected to Wi-Fi or a cellular carrier network
- Remote access to test target via browser interface
- Automation scripting services
- Manual test execution services
- Detailed reporting of test executions
- Test case design and development
- Usage reports of test resources
- Defect Identification, triage, reporting and retest
QA Consultants has developed our own digital/mobile test automation framework to support the CoE. This framework is based on the leading open-source standards for mobile web and mobile application testing (Selenium and Appium) and accelerates the time required to create test automation assets.
Automation Framework
The automation framework supports different scripting technologies, device management and virtual lab providers, and allows for a scripting methodology of script-once run-many. This technology permits a single test script to be developed to run the same test flow across multiple test targets (different browsers, mobile and desktop / iOS or Android for native and hybrid applications) and significantly reduces the required time to create an automation asset and begin using it to test a large number of target environments. Scripting accelerators shield complex coding requirements from the tester to promote rapid script development. The framework supports component reuse, data-driven testing, keyword-test creation and a BDD testing model (BDT).
The automation framework supports testing on the following mobile platforms: iOS version 4.3 and newer, Android version 2.2 and newer, BlackBerry BBOS 10, and Windows Phone 8x and newer. However, because CoE operates as a managed service of automation and manual testing, QA Consultants can test ANY and ALL devices, peripherals, handhelds and wireless products and currently has strategic partnerships with leading mobile lab providers in the cloud (Sauce Labs, Perfecto Mobile, Test Grid, Experitest).