The number and type of wireless applications cited at the beginning of this article indicate the diversity of usage mobile networks will support in the future. In terms of functional verification of these applications, testers need to keep in mind:
- Verification of end-to-end services will require access to in-country test facilities.
- Testing conducted through emulators or simulators in lab testbeds cannot accomplish the same level of quality verification of the user experience as field-based testing will.
- Emulators and simulators are useful for validating functionality and compatibility under controlled conditions, particularly during the development cycle and for white-box testing. However, field verification is necessary to ensure proper validation of services in a real world environment. Each unique configuration instance of a wireless application should be field tested as a separate solution (device, browser, data, network, carrier, gateway and enterprise components).
- Wireless WAN/PAN interoperability will require extra focused testing. Most wireless applications and services will be delivered through a combination of wide-area wireless networks (licensed spectrum) and personal area networks (PAN), such as Bluetooth and 802.11b, which operate on unlicensed spectrums. Ensuring service and application continuity across these networks is important.
- Test mobile applications in the same manner they are designed, but with tailored approaches. Despite attempts to the contrary, applications are still designed for a particular mobile device, and customized for the job function of each user. The same data residing within an inventory database, for example, might be accessible and displayed via separate applications:
o one for a non-mobile inventory clerk showing all inventory information
o one for a mobile sales representative showing just product availability
o one for a locally mobile stock picker showing warehouse location for product to ship
As OracleMobile CTO Jacob Christfort asserts, “There’s no free lunch.” He proclaims it folly to assume that “…you can take complicated business applications and simply transcode them.” A test strategy that takes into account the user experience of each unique mobile application and its
requirements is no less necessary than a design strategy for i-mode services that recognize the attraction of downloadable cartoon characters and customizable ring tones. The key is to know your audience, your user base, your application requirements and your infrastructure. Or risk a repetition of the same mistakes that have stumped developers and integrators in the web and client server domains.”
