DEVOPSdigest

In today's digitally-driven world, a mobile application can make or break a business. Not only are users demanding high-quality mobile experiences — 50% of mobile users won't even consider using an app with a three-star rating — but poor mobile app quality can have a detrimental impact on a company's financial success — a staggering 90% of IT professionals and developers estimate that poor mobile application quality could cost their business up to $2.49M in revenue.

On the flip side, a recent survey from Tricentis found that high-quality mobile apps can improve just about every aspect of a company's standing including enhanced end-user experience, increased brand value and sales, improved company competitiveness, and bolstered customer retention and acquisition.

Despite the clear benefits of strong mobile applications and the detrimental impacts of poor ones, developing a high-quality, high-performing, and accessible application remains a challenge for software development teams. Fortunately, new technologies — like AI and automation — are emerging as a key solution to enhancing quality and driving overarching business success.

The Challenges Facing Today's Mobile Apps

Across the board, many businesses are struggling to deliver high-quality mobile application experiences. End-users are experiencing a wide variety of challenges when using apps, including unsupported devices or platforms (41%), buggy or slow mobile experiences (41%), difficult-to-use interfaces (41%), and a lack of native application availability (40%).

At the core of these issues is poor mobile app development testing strategies. A critical part of app development, mobile testing is the process of evaluating the functionality, usability, and performance of a mobile application. It can help identify bugs, compatibility issues, and usability concerns, and enhance customer experiences and app reliability. In fact, 86% of IT professionals deem testing as important to the quality and success of their organization's mobile app development.

While mobile testing is widely recognized as a necessary aspect of app development, almost all (99%) of organizations say they have faced one or more challenges when implementing their testing strategy, ranging from competing priorities (27%) to complex implementation strategies (25%) to time and project management challenges (25%), and more.

As mobile applications become an increasingly integral element of a company's success, DevOps and IT professionals must enhance their testing processes to develop high-performing products. AI and automation have emerged as key solutions to improve mobile testing processes and develop and deploy the high-quality and high-performing applications companies need to see success.

The Power of AI and Automation to Bolster Mobile Apps

AI and automation are essential tools for improving test coverage and reliability, optimizing app features, and enhancing overall performance and experience. Equipped with the ability to build comprehensive test cases, execute tests across a myriad of devices, platforms, and networks, and rapidly identify errors and failures, AI and automation can help developers create the best apps possible.

When specifically integrated into mobile testing strategies, IT professionals and developers expect to see improved application quality (37%), increased productivity (36%), enhanced end-user experience (34%), and a reduced number of vulnerabilities and bugs (32%). Further, 38% of senior IT professionals and application developers think they would save between half and three-quarters (51-75%) of their organization's budget per year by moving toward fully automated mobile application testing, and a further fifth (20%) expect they would save anywhere between 76-100% of their budget per year.

AI and automation are also expected to improve accessibility, a key component of quality mobile applications. While accessibility has not historically been prioritized by organizations — fewer than a fifth (18%) of senior IT leaders and developers noted that all of their services are mobile-accessible — the increasing importance of deploying a quality app and the number of global regulations is causing this to shift. Now, more than one-third (38%) of respondents say that improving cross-platform accessibility is one of their biggest priorities, second only to security (41%), and nearly one-third (31%) are expecting AI to create greater accessibility for end-users.

A New Era for Mobile Apps

Mobile apps have never been more important. From enhancing user experience and bolstering customer retention to increasing brand value and company competitiveness, an effective mobile app is a linchpin to success. Unfortunately, developing these high-quality mobile apps can be a challenge for software development teams, primarily due to inadequate testing strategies.

The emergence of technologies like AI and automation provides a massive opportunity for developers to address these challenges, improve testing processes, and, ultimately, deliver the high-performing apps that drive success. With AI and automation in their arsenal, developers can meet the demands of modern mobile application development and usher in a new era of innovation and excellence.