Testing mobile devices such as phones, tablets, and eReaders requires special equipment and methodology. Since traditional desktop screen-capture software cannot adequately capture touch interactions, usability practitioners have been using strategically placed cameras to record usability test interactions on these mobile devices.
Preparing to Perform Mobile Device Testing
The methodologies and devices to facilitate usability testing on phones, tablets, and eReaders continue to develop. When planning mobile device testing, you should keep in mind the following points −
- Your timeframe and budget. Having a good understanding of the timeframe and the budget will help you determine which processes and equipment will work best based your needs.
- The physical setup of the space and how you will capture the test. This may range from a lower-fidelity arrangement to using a specialized platform and camera device and/or maybe using an eye-tracking software.
- Your target audience and devices. Use web analytics to check how many mobile users visit the site, which device they use, and their operating system. Understanding this information will help you to know which devices to test.
Another important aspect to cover after test planning is test device management. In a large organization, handling mobile device testing needs a smart way to secure organization’s confidential data. To do this, you will need a security software. In the following section, we will understand more on device management tools.
Device Management Tools
Mobile device management (MDM) is a type of security software used in IT to monitor, manage, and secure employees’ mobile devices that are deployed across multiple mobile service providers and across multiple mobile operating systems being used in the organization.
MDM is often combined with additional security services and tools such as Mobile Application Management to create a complete mobile device and security Enterprise Mobility Management solution.
There are many tools available in market to do this job. The following table provides an overview of some of the popular tools and their features.
| Products | BlackBerry MDM | Citrix MDM | Dell MDM | IBM MDM | MobileIron MDM | SOTI MDM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Android | 2.3+ | Yes | Yes | Yes | 2.3 through current | Yes |
| iOS | 5.0+ | Yes | Yes | Yes | 4.0 through current | Yes |
| Windows Phone | No for BES10 (WP 8+ for BES12) | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7 through current | Yes |
| BlackBerry | Yes, BBOS, BlackBerry 10 | Yes | No | Yes | 10 (through ActiveSync) | No |
| Symbian | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
| Windows OS | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8.1 RT/Pro | No |
| Mac OSX | No | Coming soon | Yes | Yes | Lion, Mountain Lion | Yes |
| Other | No | Windows Mobile | None | Office 365, Gmail, Lotus | None | Windows Mobile, CE, Embedded |
| Configure/disable WiFi | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Device Encryption | Yes | Yes | Yes, device type dependent | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Email Encryption | Yes | Yes | Yes, device type dependent | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multifactor authentication | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Malware detection | No | No | No | Yes | Yes with partner integration | Yes |
| Firewall | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes with partner integration | Yes |
| Separate User Data from Corporate Data | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |