Mobile App Testing Course

Lesson 1 • Mobile SDLC and Testing Roles

Maps testing activities to mobile software development lifecycle phases. Clarifies tester responsibilities within agile and waterfall teams.

Lesson 2 • iOS and Android Platform Differences

Contrasts iOS and Android runtime environments, permission models, and UI paradigms. Enables testers to anticipate platform-specific defects.

Lesson 3 • Mobile App Types and Architectures

Distinguishes native, hybrid, and web apps by architecture and behaviour. Sets the context for choosing testing approaches throughout the course.

Lesson 4 • Mobile Testing Types Overview

Surveys functional, non-functional, and specialised mobile testing categories. Provides a taxonomy students reference in every subsequent chapter.

Lesson 1 • Interruption and State Testing

Tests app behaviour during calls, notifications, battery alerts, and app switching. Validates resilience to real-world interruptions users encounter daily.

Lesson 2 • Writing Effective Mobile Test Cases

Teaches test case structure, preconditions, steps, and expected results for mobile contexts. Directly feeds the test execution activities in later sections.

Lesson 3 • Exploratory Testing on Mobile

Introduces session-based exploratory testing adapted for touch interfaces and gestures. Complements scripted testing by uncovering unscripted defects.

Lesson 4 • Testing Core Mobile Interactions

Covers tap, swipe, pinch, rotate, and multi-touch validation techniques. Ensures testers verify the full range of touch-driven user interactions.

Lesson 1 • Hardware Feature Testing

Tests camera, GPS, biometrics, NFC, and sensors for correct app integration. Covers mocking hardware features when physical devices are unavailable.

Lesson 2 • Screen Size and Resolution Testing

Tests UI layouts across phone, tablet, and foldable screen dimensions. Ensures responsive design renders correctly without truncation or overlap.

Lesson 3 • Cloud Device Lab Strategy

Introduces cloud-based device farms for scalable compatibility coverage. Teaches selecting device matrices and interpreting remote test results.

Lesson 4 • Device Fragmentation Challenges

Analyses the scope of Android fragmentation and iOS version distribution in production. Motivates systematic device selection strategies covered in this chapter.

Lesson 1 • Network Transition Scenarios

Tests seamless handoff between Wi-Fi, cellular, and roaming connections. Catches session drops and data corruption during connectivity switches.

Lesson 2 • Offline and Airplane Mode Testing

Validates app behaviour when connectivity is fully absent, including data caching and error messaging. Ensures users receive clear feedback and no data loss occurs.

Lesson 3 • API and Backend Connectivity Testing

Intercepts and inspects HTTP/HTTPS traffic between the app and backend services. Validates request payloads, response handling, and timeout behaviour.

Lesson 4 • Network Condition Simulation

Uses built-in tools and proxies to throttle bandwidth, add latency, and simulate packet loss. Establishes the simulation skills needed for all network test scenarios.

Lesson 1 • Test Suite Organisation and Reporting

Structures tests into suites, applies tags, and generates HTML and XML reports. Enables selective execution and clear pass/fail communication to stakeholders.

Lesson 2 • Writing and Running Basic Test Scripts

Develops scripts for login, navigation, form input, and assertion patterns. Applies locator strategies to produce executable automated test cases.

Lesson 3 • Appium Environment and Configuration

Installs and configures Appium server, desired capabilities, and driver sessions. Produces a working Appium setup ready for script development.

Lesson 4 • Element Locator Strategies

Teaches accessibility ID, XPath, class name, and resource ID locators for reliable element targeting. Stable locators reduce test flakiness in automation suites.

Lesson 5 • Page Object Model for Mobile

Implements the Page Object Model pattern to separate test logic from UI element definitions. Improves maintainability when app UI changes occur.

Lesson 1 • Profiling Tools on iOS

Applies Xcode Instruments to measure time profiler, allocations, and energy impact. Produces iOS-specific performance baselines comparable to Android findings.

Lesson 2 • Profiling Tools on Android

Uses Android Studio Profiler to capture CPU, memory, network, and energy traces. Connects profiling data to specific code paths and UI interactions.

Lesson 3 • Performance Testing Concepts for Mobile

Defines key performance metrics: launch time, frame rate, memory footprint, and battery drain. Establishes measurement baselines before profiling begins.

Lesson 4 • Load and Stress Testing Mobile Backends

Simulates concurrent users hitting mobile backend APIs to find throughput limits. Validates app behaviour when server responses degrade under load.

Lesson 1 • Mobile Threat Modelling Basics

Applies STRIDE and mobile-specific threat categories to identify attack surfaces. Produces a threat model that prioritises security test coverage.

Lesson 2 • Network Transport Security Testing

Verifies TLS configuration, certificate pinning, and absence of cleartext traffic. Intercepts traffic to confirm sensitive data is never transmitted unencrypted.

Lesson 3 • Authentication and Session Testing

Tests login flows, token storage, session expiry, and biometric authentication bypass risks. Ensures authentication mechanisms resist common attack patterns.

Lesson 4 • Static and Dynamic Analysis Techniques

Uses static analysis tools to review app binaries and dynamic tools to monitor runtime behaviour. Combines both approaches for comprehensive security coverage.

Lesson 1 • CI/CD Pipeline Fundamentals for Mobile

Explains pipeline stages, triggers, and artifact management specific to mobile builds. Provides the pipeline context needed to integrate tests effectively.

Lesson 2 • Integrating Automated Tests into Pipelines

Configures test execution steps, device farm connections, and result publishing in CI tools. Produces automated quality gates that block failing builds.

Lesson 3 • Test Pyramid and Coverage Strategy

Applies the mobile test pyramid to balance unit, integration, and UI test investment. Optimises feedback speed and maintenance cost across the test suite.

Lesson 4 • Flaky Test Detection and Remediation

Identifies causes of flaky mobile tests including timing, device state, and network dependency. Applies retry logic, waits, and isolation techniques to stabilise suites.