5 biggest quality assurance and mobile testing challenges for app development: Quick strategies to solve them

The quality assurance (QA) engineering team of a typical business stepping into the digital transformation journey through a robust application development lifecycle has to wear many different hats. They are the copilots of testing data management, real-time device compatibility, UAT, app automation, security, and much more. With a high inclination towards faster releases and seamless application performance, QA teams have to navigate many critical application development challenges that can impact the overall user experience and business success.

Ensuring a flawless digital experience involves overcoming common bottlenecks in quality testing. From managing test data across environments to enabling real device testing and seamless CI/CD integration, businesses require innovative solutions to optimize their QA strategies. 

Below, we explore five major problem areas in quality testing and how Kellton, a digital transformation partner with expertise in professional quality testing and engineering services, effectively addresses them.

Top 5 quality testing challenges in mobile app development

With 90% of internet time occupied by mobile applications billions of users actively, there is zero scope for an error. Users in modern-age expect mobile apps to be fast, functional, intelligent and flawless. Companies to escape the complexities of app crashes and negative reviews cannot trust on "one-size-fits-all approach" and need to run their applications for a rigorous mobile test to ensure the smooth operation of each element right from its UI to backend logic.

Here're the most common mobile testing challenges to be considered during mobile app development journey

Problem 1: Test Data Management: How will you manage test data in different environments to run the App automation (e.g., QA/Staging, UAT environment)?

Managing test data across multiple environments (QA, Staging, UAT) is complex and requires consistency to ensure reliable test execution. Data discrepancies between environments can lead to test failures, false positives, or undetected defects. Additionally, handling sensitive production data for testing purposes raises security and compliance concerns. Teams also struggle with maintaining up-to-date, reusable, and scalable test datasets that align with evolving application requirements.

The Solution:

• Implementing data masking and synthetic data generation to ensure security and consistency.
• Using test data management tools to create environment-specific datasets.
• Automating test data provisioning with robust scripts to streamline the process.

Problem 2: How to test on real devices—Testing frameworks running on multiple servers and how they will connect multiple devices in real-time remotely.

Frameworks running on a server need access to real devices for testing. However, ensuring connectivity and running automation across multiple devices in different locations is a significant challenge. Businesses must manage device fragmentation, network variations, and performance discrepancies across different hardware and OS versions. Additionally, setting up a remote testing infrastructure that supports parallel execution without compromising security and performance is a demanding task.

The Solution:

• Leveraging cloud-based device farms such as BrowserStack or Sauce Labs for remote access.
• Integrating Appium and Selenium Grid for parallel execution on multiple real devices.
• Enabling secure tunneling to connect on-premise frameworks to remote test devices.

Problem 3: Reporting with Video and Screenshot Attachments for the failure cases

Capturing detailed failure logs, including screenshots and video recordings, is essential for debugging, but many automation frameworks lack built-in capabilities for comprehensive reporting. Without proper visual evidence, it becomes difficult for QA teams to analyze test failures, reproduce issues, and collaborate with development teams for quick resolution. Additionally, storing and managing large volumes of screenshots and videos efficiently without affecting performance is a technical challenge.

The Solution:

• Using Allure and Extent Reports to generate rich reports with visual evidence.
• Integrating video recording plugins within CI/CD pipelines for real-time tracking.
• Implementing automated log capture and structured reporting dashboards for quick analysis.

Problem 4: Real Device Testing with CI/CD: If the application is running on Jenkins, then how will it run on real devices

Running automated test suites on real devices while integrating with CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins) poses multiple challenges. The process must support dynamic device allocation, execution parallelization, and real-time result reporting. Furthermore, device availability, hardware failures, and performance bottlenecks in test execution can slow down development cycles. Ensuring smooth communication between the CI/CD pipeline and real devices without disrupting test stability remains a critical challenge.

The Solution:

• Configuring Jenkins pipelines to trigger automated tests on real devices.
• Using Kubernetes-based device clusters for dynamic provisioning.
• Implementing parallel execution strategies to optimize test cycles.

Problem 5: Cross-Environment Builds - What if there are different environments and app automation is required to run on different Environments

When an application is developed, it is crucial to test it across multiple environments, including QA, Demo, Staging, and UAT, to validate that its performance is not compromised in each setting. However, each environment may have different configurations, databases, dependencies, or infrastructure settings, leading to inconsistent test results. Managing test execution across diverse environments while maintaining speed and accuracy is a significant challenge for QA teams.

The Solution:

• Implementing environment-specific configurations within automation frameworks.
• Using Docker and Kubernetes for containerized test execution across environments.
• Automating test suite selection based on build type and environment variables.

The Conclusion

We are a leading professional quality engineering company with the expertise to provide advanced quality assurance solutions needed to address critical quality testing challenges. Kellton enables organizations develop high-quality apps with confidence by handling their top five quality hurdles.

Our methodology revolves around end-to-end automation, leveraging AI-powered testing frameworks to accelerate software delivery. We utilize cloud-native testing, harnessing cloud-based infrastructures for seamless real-device testing and cross-environment compatibility. 

What’s more? Our CI/CD-driven QA approach integrates automated testing within DevOps pipelines, ensuring continuous quality assurance. We also implement risk-based testing, prioritizing test cases based on business-critical functionalities to optimize coverage and efficiency. 

By partnering with Kellton, businesses can:

• Accelerate your testing processes with automation and advanced tools.
• Ensure comprehensive test coverage across devices and environments.
• Reduce time-to-market while maintaining high-quality standards.
• Create robust digital experiences by minimizing risks. 

Quality testing is a critical component of app development, but it doesn’t have to be a bottleneck. If you’re looking to enhance your QA strategy and drive seamless digital transformation, Kellton is your trusted partner for success.