Family Time vs. Mobile App Release Days: Can Test Automation Help Us Have Both?

Long hours in the office on release days have been the norm for ages, often at the expense of family time. But with cutting-edge mobile test automation tools, this old narrative is changing. Full disclosure: I'm part of the Copado team, but hear me out. Whether you’re still in the trenches of manual testing or using an automation suite yet still dreading release days, let’s talk about why advanced mobile test automation tools are worth your attention. 

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Integrate Mobile Testing Into Your Delivery Process

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Any mobile developer worth their salt tests every line of code they commit. They’re likely using unit tests manually verifying functionality with simulators and emulators. Some might even be embracing test-driven development. 

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But then what? How do you ensure features hold up in unforeseen scenarios? How do you validate that their app adapts to updates and shifts in underlying technologies? 

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Exploratory Testing is a wise choice for mobile applications and web domains alike. Having product owners and other Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) try out your latest features is also a good idea. 

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But never underestimate the power of automation! 

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Every commit made to a "near production" branch or environment should automatically trigger your mobile regression test suite. This gives you instant feedback. And it’s vital that your CI/CD solution meshes with your test automation platform, so tests run frequently. 

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Copado users know this harmony well, as Copado Robotic Testing integrates seamlessly with almost any CI/CD pipeline. (For best practices on Salesforce CI/CD, take a look at this article here.)

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Why Cloud-Based Mobile Test Automation Makes Sense

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Testing should be collaborative. It needs different types of users to close the loop. At Copado, we believe it takes a village of testers to fully cover all quality aspects. Developers should be doing unit tests and using simulators, and your product owners should be playing with new features, actively involving other stakeholders in the process. 

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This is precisely why mobile test automation should be in the cloud. Cloud platforms are accessible from anywhere — enabling effortless collaboration across disparate teams.

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If you’re a Copado Robotic Testing user, you’re already familiar with its intuitive user experience. It caters to all types of users: experts can create test cases using natural language-based scripting mode, while less technical users can rely on the visual flow mode for test case creation. If you’ve automated web tests with Copado Robotic Testing, you’ll feel right at home with mobile testing.  

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Learn more about automating Salesforce testing and its advantages here.

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Beyond Use Cases: Covering Business Processes

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A common early misstep is focusing on features or use cases when building automated mobile tests (or any kind of automation, for that matter). But in the real world, customers never use a single feature in isolation. Their satisfaction hinges on every aspect of your app working together.

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The fix? Automating end-to-end scenarios that cover the entire business process.

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This includes every underlying service your app interacts with.  For example, if a service engineer uses a mobile app built on Salesforce to enter customer data, which is then processed and made available through a ServiceNow web interface, your automation needs to cover this entire journey. This is where most test automation tools stumble — and where Copado Robotic Testing sets itself apart. 

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Copado enables teams to seamlessly test complex business processes, providing end-to-end automation support across both web and mobile. Let the robots do the heavy lifting!

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For more insights on the business benefits of integrating DevOps practices, check out Copado's detailed guide here.

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Making Sure Your Mobile Services Are Running At All Times

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While many acknowledge the necessity of testing digital services on mobile devices, few realize the importance of ensuring these services are available, stable, and fast at all times. Now, you might be wondering why this is such a big deal…

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Think about it. 

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Almost every app today relies on a web of underlying technologies, cloud services, and databases. In such a scenario, wouldn’t you want continuous monitoring on every supported device? Imagine getting immediate notifications if a dependency fails — affecting user access on iOS devices. 

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At Copado, we understand the importance of this in an always-on world. Copado Robotic Testing allows you to schedule monitoring test runs as needed for real-time production monitoring. Each test ensures that everything is functioning correctly. And here's the kicker: You can repurpose some of your existing smoke test scenarios for this. If an issue is detected, , you’ll have access to video recordings and crash logs of the failed action.

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Final Thoughts

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Mobile test automation has become a first-class citizen in the arena of software development. It’s crucial to avoid quality issues in production or you spend too much time and money on manual testing. 

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The need to assure quality across different services and digital experiences by unifying the approach to web and mobile testing highlights why the moment for mobile test automation is now! It helps build a culture of quality –– where everyone contributes to exceptional digital experiences.

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Cutting-edge platforms like Copado Robotic Testing are designed with these considerations in mind. They make mobile test automation widely accessible and make it easy to get started with, even for those new to coding. Check out Copado and see for yourself how it can transform your mobile testing approach!

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