[Q] Divya asked: What are the strategies you have used in achieving device make/model/screen resolution coverage and platform versions which have frequent updates?

[A] Raj:I have followed the following strategies:

• First look into Apple and Google developer website to get information on the most widely used devices, OS, browser versions.
  • https://developer.apple.com/support/app-store/
  • https://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/
• Next, use Google Analytics and figure what devices, OS, browser versions your customers are using to access your mobile app, website.
• Based on the data collected from the above 2 steps, you could:
  • Use a combinatorial tool and narrow down the number of Devices, OS, browser combinations you need for testing - http://www.pairwise.org/tools.asp
  • Then buy the most widely used devices based on your research preferably some combination of phones, tablets in iOS and Android
  • For the rest of the devices use a Device Farm service like AWS Device Farm to test on other devices as well

[Q] Divya asked: Are there any open-source automation tools you would recommend for Android and iOS apps testing?

[A] Raj: Some widely popular open source tools for native app testing I have personally used are:

• Appium
• Robotium
• Espresso
• XCTest
• MonkeyTalk
• Kif

[Q] Ketankumar asked: Where is (the STPCon conference) in VA?

[A] Raj: STPcon is taking place in Arlington, VA, October 22-25 2018 - https://www.stpcon.com/. I will be doing a workshop and a talk at the conference and will also be there to meet people and talk testing.

My Sessions:

• 3 Hour Workshop: Unwrapping the box of Paired testing
• 1 Hour Session: How to break Mobile Applications -

[A] Raj: Progressive Web Apps (PWA's) are in a broad sense similar to Hybrid apps, where the user gets a feel of a native but is implemented using web technologies such as JavaScrip, HTML and CSS.

In terms of what to look out for, For Native Apps - If you follow my mind map, you will be able to find most of the vulnerabilities with your application. For PWA's - I follow Google's checklist for testing PWA's - https://developers.google.com/web/progressive-web-apps/checklist. In a nutshell it is like testing responsive websites and all the approaches used for that is applicable to PWA's as well.

[Q] Swati asked: How to overcome the challenge of testing a feature where we track the driver location while sitting at your desk?

[A] Raj: Not sure I understood this question. When you say "Driver" I am going to assume that you are talking about an app that tracks Driver Locations using GPS and not the actual drivers used in mobile apps and for testing. With that assumption, if I were you I would do the following (I worked for an insurance company where we were testing usage based insurance devices, so I can speak to this based on my real life experience)-

• Test the app as an end user and from your desk
  • I would sit with an actual driver when a vehicle is driven and see how the app is gathering data and tracking the location. I will have a checklist of things I would like to do beforehand when sitting with the driver to make this testing session more productive.
  • At your desk, I would try to
    • Disable location service and re-enable it to see what happens
    • I would check what type of notifications you get in the app as and when you are tracking the driver
    • I would check tracking in Wi-Fi/4G and poor network connection
    • I would try to compare you tracking with Find My Friends in the iPhone and a similar app in Android, and do a comparative study to see how you tracking app performs compared to well know tracking apps
    • I would definitely try to check the Privacy settings on your phone when using the app to ensure the privacy of users are not violated

And so on... for more ideas e-mail me at raj@testim.io

[Q] William asked: Is there any open source tool similar to www.testim.io we could use?

[A] Raj: Currently there are NO open source tools or vendor tools in the market which has all the features Testim.io provides to the customers.

[Q] Emil Dan asked: Which is the programming language you recommend to be learned by beginners in the purpose of doing automation mobile testing?

[A] Raj: I would start with learning HTML, CSS and then move onto one of these languages Java, JavaScript, Python or Ruby. These are the most widely used programming languages currently. If you pick up one language, then you can work with any other programming language. Google and StackOverflow are your best friends 🙂

[Q] Matt commented: The difference in prices for mobile/tablet/desktop for airlines is actually intentional. Its all about revenue optimization 🙂

[A] Raj: ROFL. Ha ha....I wish that is the case. But, after working in a well known travel booking company and knowing the insides of how the system works, it is un-ethical to do that to customers. I believe we can even get sued for that. So as far as I know, that is not the case and it shouldn't be. But hey! who knows, some other company may already be doing this and we just don't know about it 🙂 In the current day and age, anything can happen and we should not be surprised, especially with technology and how intrusive it could be to end users.

[Q] Suresh asked: Do you offer any PoC to try on your applications?

[A] Raj: Yes, we do free demos, consulting, give 14 day free trial and have 24/7 customer support through the free trial period and after you get the subscription as well. All you have to do this is, sign up for the free trial here - https://app.testim.io/. You can also use the Chatbox feature on our website and contact any of us who will immediately help you out 🙂 We believe that the customer needs to get a chance to evaluate Testim.io and see if it fits their automation needs and we provide every opportunity to do that. That is the reason why we currently have many customers all over the world.

If you contact me or anyone to know more about Testim.io, just tell them "Raj referred you" 🙂 and we will take care of the rest.