How To Test Location Based Mobile Apps

Location based social networking apps use the coordinates system for getting the location and then social networking sites get integrated with these applications. As the functionality of such applications is mostly the same, let’s look at the basic overflow of a project we tested a little while back.

Three things were involved in this project; network, location and social networking sites.

Internet connectivity is compulsory for using location based applications. Coordinates are highly involved in today’s social networking apps therefore their importance is paramount. Let’s talk about the basic flow of the app.

User can create app account using his Facebook account. Later on user can update his profile by tapping and providing the information. User can see the app users in other tab. App users are being displayed captured by the app using coordinates. All app users within specified range are shown in the tab. User can create the events and can join events created by others. They can send the request to another app user, whether it is by phone, Email, Facebook request and LinkedIn connection request. The notification will be shown in the recipient’s app. User can choose to either accept or reject the request.

Testing approaches:

The basic testing approaches that we use for these types of projects are

• Functional testing
• Usability Testing
• Cross platform testing
• Performance testing
• Interrupt testing
• Installation testing

Nature of errors:

Nature of errors can filter on the basis of :

• Functional issues.
• Design issues
• Usability issues.

As we talk about the nature of errors regarding this application, we should discuss the errors we found in the application. There are many functional issues as well as design issues in the application. In some modules design of the application is different as compared to required design screens. Very few usability issues are found in the application. We reported all the issues based on minor or major severity levels.

What is your checklist & test order for testing location based social networking apps? Share your methods in the comments below.