Functional test automation for gesture-based mobile applications

• US 9,154,611 B1
• Filed: 03/30/2012
• Issued: 10/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Akamai Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Soasta Incorporated (Akamai Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jackson, Tana C., Gardner, Kenneth C., Broda, Tal
• Primary Examiner(s): Elahee, Md S
• Application Number:
  US13/435,925
• Time in Patent Office: 1,285 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.08, 379/915, 379/916, 379/10.03, 379 21- 2704, 379/29.01, 379/29.02, 455/414.4, 715/205, 345/440, 709/203, 717124-127
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3414 Workload generation, e.g. scripts, playback
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3438 monitoring of user actions tracking the activity of the user H04L67/535
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3664 Environments for testing or debugging software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3688 for test execution, e.g. scheduling of test suites
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3692 for test results analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0253 using browsers or web-pages for accessing management information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/242 Software testing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/28 Automatic routine testing ; Fault testing; Installation testing; Test methods, test equipment or test arrangements therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A method for cloud-based functional testing of a mobile application includes running a functional test program on a server. The functional test program provides a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows a user to select a mobile application and a mobile computing device having a touch-sensitive display screen for receiving user input. The mobile computing device is located remote to the server. The functional test program launches the mobile application on the mobile computing device via a wireless network connection. The server receives precision elements of each gesture-based input on the touch-sensitive display screen, the precision elements being captured and transmitted from the mobile computing device to the server during execution of the mobile application. The precision elements of each gesture-based input are then recorded in a test clip.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for cloud-based functional testing of a mobile application comprising:

running a functional test program on a server, the functional test program providing a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows a user to select the mobile application and a mobile computing device having a touch-sensitive display screen for receiving user input, the mobile computing device being located remote to the server;

launching the mobile application on the mobile computing device via a wireless network connection;

receiving, by the server, precision elements of each gesture-based input on the touch-sensitive display screen, the precision elements including parameters defining changes made to each object affected by the gesture-based input, the precision elements being captured and transmitted from the mobile computing device to the server during execution of the mobile application;

recording the precision elements of each gesture-based input in a test clip;

playing the test clip back, via the GUI, on a plurality of geographically distributed mobile computing devices for performing test on the devices.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the test clip comprises a sequence of app actions, each app action containing the precision elements of an associated gesture-based input.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising editing the test clip to change one or more of the parameters of the precision elements.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the GUI is provided on a computer associated with the user via a browser application, the computer being remote to the server.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising incorporating the test clip into a test composition.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the parameters include starting point and ending point coordinates, path coordinates, and velocity vectors.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6 wherein the velocity vectors comprise temporal velocity vectors.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the gesture-based inputs comprise continuous, multi-touch gesture inputs.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the launching of the mobile application occurs responsive to a command input to the GUI.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising un-launching, by the functional test program, the mobile application on the mobile computing device.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with computer instructions, which, when executed by one or more processors, operable to:

run a functional test program on a server, the functional test program providing a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows a user to select a mobile application and a mobile computing device having a touch-sensitive display screen for receiving user input, the mobile computing device being located remote to the server;

launch the mobile application on the mobile computing device via a wireless network connection;

receive, by the server, precision elements of each gesture-based input on the touch-sensitive display screen, the precision elements including parameters defining changes made to each object affected by the gesture-based input, the precision elements being captured and transmitted from the mobile computing device to the server during execution of the mobile application;

record the precision elements of each gesture-based input in a test clip;

playing the test clip back, via the GUI, on a plurality of geographically distributed mobile computing devices for performing test on the devices.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 wherein the test clip comprises a sequence of application actions, each application action containing the precision elements of an associated gesture-based input.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 wherein execution of the computer instructions is further operable to allow the user to edit the test clip to change one or more of the parameters of the precision elements via the GUI.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 wherein the parameters include starting point and ending point coordinates, path coordinates, and velocity vectors.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 wherein the velocity vectors comprise temporal velocity vectors.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 wherein the gesture-based inputs comprise continuous, multi-touch gesture inputs.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 wherein the mobile application is launched responsive to a command input to the GUI.