Certification testing is never complete

Consider the standard tests types for mobile application testing – iOS8 specifics aside. There are ten major types, not including Certification, Beta, or User Acceptance Testing which include Unit, Functional, Usability, Performance, Security, Compatibility, Interface, Services, Operational and Low Level Resources. Seriously. The development and test team can’t cover all of it, never happens and it never will unless testing is continuous. Which means even certification testing needs to be continuous and not occur only during a specified period.

Perform simple test risk analysis

Continuous testing needs to be part of the test plan so the team knows what’s been done and what needs done. For example, in certification testing for iOS8 your team won’t be able to fully test all the features with each configuration setting against each device. An effective method of focusing testing efforts is having the team perform a simple risk analysis. By simple, I mean a spreadsheet with the known new functionality in iOS8 and how it maps to your application. 

Agree on a test plan and strategy

Each developer on the team knows where the fragile code is, or where code is complex or breaks most often. A simple risk analysis shares knowledge so testers focus testing in the highest risk areas. After you’ve passed certification testing, testing continues on to the next type not yet covered. There’s still time to cover the other 7-10 test types you haven’t gotten to until the next release or consider hiring a test service such as Bugwolf with fresh, varied users to finish off specific testing and reduce defects in production.

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