Multi-platform testing strategies

The fragmented nature of the modern tech ecosystem means that it is necessary for testing to take into account a number of different platforms, accounting for trends in smartphone usage and the hardware variety this entails.

Such a state of affairs requires developers to deploy impactful strategies to govern their approach to testing, ensuring that apps can be built efficiently and with a lesser likelihood of suffering issues after launch.

To help you formulate testing strategies of your own to accommodate multi-platform requirements, here are a few useful tactics to adopt which could make all the difference.

Automation is empowering

Multi-platform testing is, by its very nature, a labor-intensive process, due to the number of moving parts involved and the raft of variables that need to be considered.

This can make it more costly to carry out, as well as complicating things and resulting in less consistency if you are largely reliant on manual practices.

Thankfully with the likes of TestProject’s free automation testing tool, it has never been easier to carry out the more tedious aspects of multi-platform testing automatically, saving you time and money while also improving efficiency and helping you hit key deadlines.

Whether you are building an app only for mobile platforms or are also launching it as a web app that needs to work across all major browsers and beyond, test automation will be a boon, and should be at the heart of your overarching strategy for putting software through its paces.

Imposing limits is sensible

While the temptation to make multi-platform testing as all-encompassing as possible not only in terms of the platforms you target but the use cases you consider may be great, this can be a hindrance rather than a help.

Instead, it is better to set limits on your testing so that it is both more targeted and easier to orchestrate. This boils down to working out what kinds of testing on which platforms will give you maximal audience coverage for minimal outlay.

Likewise, once testing is underway, you can use early results to highlight which issues should be prioritized, and which can be set aside for addressing further down the line; you do not need to fix everything at once, as this is impractical and ultimately impossible.

Virtualization is cost-effective

When testing out software on several operating systems, browsers and devices, you do not need to purchase all of these potential platforms separately. Instead, you can further drive down the upfront expenses by making use of virtualized environments to emulate these distinct platforms on a single machine, giving you robust testing results without unnecessary costs being piled on top.

Aside from raw value, the other advantage of virtualization and emulation is that it means you can control more aspects of the environment without being limited by hardware itself. This includes trialing how well apps adapt depending on the screen size and orientation of a device.

As you become proficient with multi-platform testing, you will develop and augment your own strategies over time, and this flexibility and adaptability is the most important skill to nurture.