Systems, methods, and apparatuses for testing mobile device applications

• US 9,189,378 B1
• Filed: 12/02/2013
• Issued: 11/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mobile Labs LLC
• Original Assignee: Mobile Labs LLC
• Inventors: Ryan, Michael, Orlando, Stephen, Beatrice, Karen, Straight, Mackenzie, Dudar, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Mitchell, Jason
• Assistant Examiner(s): Aponte, Francisco
• Application Number:
  US14/093,865
• Time in Patent Office: 715 Days
• Field of Search: 717124-127
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3664 Environments for testing or debugging software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3668 Software testing software testing in telephone exchanges H04M3/242, testing of hardware G06F11/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3688 for test execution, e.g. scheduling of test suites
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3696 Methods or tools to render software testable

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to systems and methods for facilitating optimization of mobile application testing. In one embodiment, a mobile application testing system (MATS) allows simultaneous communication to a plurality of devices regardless of device type and operating system. Accordingly, the MATS performs mobile testing without “jail-breaking” or removing various components of the user device. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the MATS enables users to securely test mobile applications by supporting data routing behind a security firewall utilizing a transition of communications protocols. Further, various protocols provide a data tunnel allowing multiple concurrent testing sessions for multiple users via an authentication scheme. Additionally, concurrent testing sessions may include single app testing on multiple devices or a plurality of apps testing on a plurality of devices.

Claims

1. A method for testing mobile device applications via a device agent resident on a mobile device, comprising the steps of:

retrieving, via a device agent, mobile device information representative of a particular mobile device, wherein the mobile device information includes an object inventory of a plurality of platform-specific objects associated with a mobile software application operating on the particular mobile device and each of the plurality of platform-specific objects corresponds to at least one application function;

transmitting the mobile device information from the device agent to a management computer system for conversion to platform-agnostic device information for utilization in connection with automatic testing of the mobile software application;

receiving, from an automation host, a platform-specific functional application testing command at the device agent for deployment on the particular mobile device for testing of the mobile software application, wherein the platform-specific functional application testing command is;

a) translated from an automated platform-agnostic testing command based on the object inventory of the plurality of platform-specific objects;

b) based on at least one of the plurality of platform-specific application objects corresponding to the at least one application function; and

c) a single testing command of a plurality of testing commands that represent a particular functionality of the mobile software application to be executed on at least one object of the plurality of objects; and

executing the platform-specific functional application testing command via the device agent on the particular mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting event information to the management computer system in response to the platform-specific functional application testing command executed on the particular mobile device, wherein the event information is indicative of a response of the mobile software application on the particular mobile device to the platform-specific functional application testing command.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device information further includes an active screen capture of the particular mobile device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the active screen capture of the particular mobile device comprises an object-based screen capture.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device information further comprises platform-specific data corresponding to an operating platform of the particular mobile device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device information data further comprises a Z ordering of objects relating to the mobile software application operating on the particular mobile device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device information representative of the particular mobile device is retrieved manually by a user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device information representative of the particular mobile device is retrieved automatically by the management computer system.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving the platform-specific functional application testing command occurs automatically based on predetermined commands managed by the management computer system.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device information includes one or more of the following:

event responses, screen captures, reporting data.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the screen captures are object-based.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the management computer system comprises a USB server.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the plurality of platform-specific objects comprise accelerometer functionality of the mobile software application.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the plurality of platform-specific objects comprise home button functionality of the mobile software application.