How to design your fragmented testing strategy
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2025 4:15 am
A good mobile testing strategy is built on 4 pillars:
1. Know your key devices
You don't have to test on every phone on the market. Start by analyzing which devices and versions your user base is concentrated on. Tools like Firebase or store reports will give you clear data. From there, create a prioritized device matrix (known as a "Device Matrix") and classify them into tiers:
Tier 1 (critical): Most commonly c level contact list used devices. Comprehensive testing with no margin for error.
Tier 2 (important): second group. Limited tolerance for minor errors.
Tier 3 (basic support): older or rare devices. Essential testing only.
2. Mix your testing tools well
There's no single solution. It's about combining methods according to your context:
Emulators/Simulators: Fast, inexpensive, and useful for development. Limited in accuracy.
Real devices (in-house): high fidelity, but expensive to maintain.
Cloud device farms (BrowserStack, etc.): Access to thousands of real-world combinations on demand.
3. Strengthen the code base
You'll reduce device-specific bugs if you have a solid foundation:
Strongly typed languages: Kotlin, Swift, TypeScript help detect errors before they run.
Unit and integration tests: for logic, services, and utilities.
Clean and testable architecture: Keep the app lightweight and delegate complex logic to the backend.
Monitoring and reporting: Crashlytics, Sentry, and detailed logs to diagnose real-world problems.
4. Automate what matters
Automation should not cover everything, but it should cover critical flows:
Prioritize key paths (checkout, login, registration).
Use robust testing frameworks.
Run in parallel in the cloud for fast feedback.
Includes regressive visual tests to detect unexpected UI changes.
1. Know your key devices
You don't have to test on every phone on the market. Start by analyzing which devices and versions your user base is concentrated on. Tools like Firebase or store reports will give you clear data. From there, create a prioritized device matrix (known as a "Device Matrix") and classify them into tiers:
Tier 1 (critical): Most commonly c level contact list used devices. Comprehensive testing with no margin for error.
Tier 2 (important): second group. Limited tolerance for minor errors.
Tier 3 (basic support): older or rare devices. Essential testing only.
2. Mix your testing tools well
There's no single solution. It's about combining methods according to your context:
Emulators/Simulators: Fast, inexpensive, and useful for development. Limited in accuracy.
Real devices (in-house): high fidelity, but expensive to maintain.
Cloud device farms (BrowserStack, etc.): Access to thousands of real-world combinations on demand.
3. Strengthen the code base
You'll reduce device-specific bugs if you have a solid foundation:
Strongly typed languages: Kotlin, Swift, TypeScript help detect errors before they run.
Unit and integration tests: for logic, services, and utilities.
Clean and testable architecture: Keep the app lightweight and delegate complex logic to the backend.
Monitoring and reporting: Crashlytics, Sentry, and detailed logs to diagnose real-world problems.
4. Automate what matters
Automation should not cover everything, but it should cover critical flows:
Prioritize key paths (checkout, login, registration).
Use robust testing frameworks.
Run in parallel in the cloud for fast feedback.
Includes regressive visual tests to detect unexpected UI changes.