Latest Digital Trends That Affect Test Coverage In 2022

The year 2022 came after a whirlwind of massive changes across the globe. Digitalization went to its peak in the previous two years. Now the post-covid era has businesses keeping on par with digital trends more than ever.

Considering how the global mobile app market until 2025 is estimated to reach a whopping $613 billion, it is necessary to consider what affects the digital landscape. Building on that, let us take a detailed look into the latest trends that affect test coverage in 2022.

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1. Load Testing

Whenever we talk about load testing, the nuisance of using some mobile applications comes to mind during the last Black Friday sale. Even though it’s a nonfunctional aspect of web app and mobile app testing, it’s crucial to eliminate unexpected service outages.

Sometimes, significant events or updates in the build can put much extra pressure on your application. This can lead to massive revenue loss and customer acquisition and retention decline. It’s important to know that the user undergoes multiple journeys while using your product. That is why it’s vital to accurately replicate them and consider all relevant factors while creating scenarios for load testing.

How To Amp Up Your Load Testing Game For A Better Test Coverage

When you know your platform will be under stress, run extensive load tests. On the other hand, run small load tests once you finish a single build. Check for unexpected server behavior, higher CPU usage, memories, and similar errors while running load tests.

Consider performance and load testing types such as failure point tests, spike tests, and long soak tests. A combination of these three subcategories will ensure system recovery from the breaking point of the app and monitor app response to an unexpected hike in concurrent mobile users. It will also allow higher recyclability of resources, including connections, threads, CPU, and memory.

It’s important to note that you shouldn’t test an application on a massive scale if you don’t actually need it. A good way to go is to be practical on realistic. Start out by emulating a regular throughput before testing your application for peak demand. But if you are running large-scale tests, make sure to give some sleep time to the load generator. Since the operation is intensive, there is a limit to which the load generator can function without rest. If you over utilise it, it can lead to compromised reliability of test results.

Your script shouldn’t overload the testing tool. Also, don’t code tests that can give unrealistic failures due to improper script. Don’t forget to take think time into account for the virtual user. The performance test scenario needs to be realistic and should emulate the actual interaction of a real user.

If the tests are large-scale you should also take diagnostics and monitoring into account. No brand wants to earn a negative reputation among its customers. Load testing is a trend that will last as it helps remove bottlenecks from both external and internal infrastructure.

2. Multi-Device Beneficial Code Base

For a product to succeed, its mobile application must work on a wide array of operating systems, browsers, and devices. Therefore, to keep things simple, it’s great to use code bases that facilitate the creation of apps that smoothly work on multiple devices.

Code Bases That Are Going To Be In The Trend In 2022 And Beyond

The following code bases help in improving test coverage and offer an outstanding user experience. From a smartphone with the smallest possible screen size to the most oversized desktops, users won’t feel any discomfort while navigating through the interface. Let’s take a look.

Flutter- It’s a UI SDK offering a single code base for the development of cross-platform apps. This open-source framework is compatible with platforms such as Fuchsia, Windows, linux, iOS, Android, and Google.
PWAs- PWAs or progressive web applications are websites or web pages that seem like mobile apps. The biggest advantages are higher speed and lesser load time which increases user retention.
RWD- Responsive Web Design is the kind of code base that imparts dynamic modifications to how a website appears to users on the basis of device specifications. For instance, if a user views a responsive website on mobile, it will quickly change its orientation and display according to the viewport, resolution, and screen size of the mobile device in use.

3. The Rising Importance Of Accessibility Testing

Making digital products accessible to those who are differently-abled has emerged as a top priority for most businesses. Not only do inaccessible mobile applications cause legal liabilities, but they also cost a company in terms of revenue if the competitors focus on offering higher accessibility. 2022 has created an urgency for increasing test coverage by giving accessibility major significance.

4. Surge In The Use Of IoT

Another rising trend besides higher accessibility is the greater use of IoT devices. Since all the related smart objects connect through mobile, the market can touch $1.1 trillion in 2023. It easily automates mundane tasks to help facilitate the utilization of human intelligence for more complicated tasks requiring unique skill sets. This minimizes the number of employees and reduces business operation costs.

Besides offering more convenience for homeowners, IoT also makes business operation management easier by simplifying the management of spare parts, fuel, tracking, shipping, and inventory. They also reduce the possibilities of human errors which results in improved safety. IoT devices like motion sensors, cameras, and others also contribute to high safety standards at the workplace and at home. Some other benefits include better business development, marketing customer retention, and support.

However, test coverage can become challenging due to the wider capability range and more connections across various mobile devices. Since mobile applications are responsible for operating significant objects in residential and commercial real estate, capturing bugs and analyzing different error scenarios will be crucial.

5. High Priority For Security

Besides usability and performance, security is going to hold high priority. Therefore, there will be a sharp increase in the need for security test coverage. It’s alarming how advancements in technology and cyberattacks go hand in hand. This risks your business as well as the average user’s data. Security concerns will pose an imminent need to avoid security threats like post-login fraud, attack vectors, bot attacks, custom malware, etc.

Security testing exposes all risks to the user during the testing phase itself. Especially, if your application involves collecting personal user data or initiating transactions, security holds an even higher priority. The reputation of an app declines if it has compromised security. There have already been plenty of lawsuit instances where companies had to bear hefty fines due to unintended security breaches.

During security testing, testers uncover bugs and the developers get rid of them. This imparts a higher quality to the product leading to positive user feedback and thus, more customer retention. When a system is secure, it automatically gains user trust and at the same time, more referrals. Since quality and traffic go hand-in-hand, a higher quality drives more traffic to the application. Of course, more traffic eventually leads to better business growth.

Summing It Up

Did you know that 67% of users are likelier to turn into regular customers if the website is mobile-friendly? It’s no secret that applications that offer users mobile-friendly options are significant gravity moon steps ahead of their competitors who don’t. When you combine the knowledge of these digital trends nd leverage it while buildig apps, it results in a more relatable and high-quality product.

Customer demands are unlikely to cease in the current scenario. With more people browsing and using apps on the go, it’s even more crucial to offer them as much perfection as possible. During and after the pandemic, people are becoming more used to spending countless hours on their mobile devices daily. Naturally, their expectations of the user experience from mobile applications have risen. This applies to performance and security, so QA teams should look into more progressive approaches to meet skyrocketing customer demands.

Detailed insights into the latest digital trends affecting test coverage will help organizations get a competitive edge to raise revenue and retain more customers. Undoubtedly, 2022 is a big year featuring more technical innovations and advancements than ever. Trends are unlikely to just come and go with time. Instead, this time, they’re here to stay. If you have a clear idea about how the trends are going to play out, there is no reason why you can’t use this information to your advantage.