Automated testing of Blackberry applications 

Jamo Solutions provides tools that automate the testing effort for mobile applications running on the BlackBerry platform. 

The tool “M-eux Test’ is a test automation environment that ensures:

•  The re-use of test cases on different hardware models. Today several Blackberry devices are available. All these devices run the same operating system but have different hardware characteristics like screen resolution and keys. The scripts of M-eux Test are hardware independent. Once implemented, a script can be re-used across different models.

•  The re-use of test cases across different version of the application under test. The scripts made by M-eux Test can easily be re-used to ensure that existing functionality is still working in new versions of the application under test. This is called regression testing.

•  Easy creation and maintenance of the test scripts. The technology applied by Jamo Solutions is easy to use, the scripts are readable and easy to maintain and the expertise gained by the usage of M-eux Test can be re-applied for testing applications on other platforms. 

The technology platform of M-eux Test 

ensures the above requirements by supporting:

•  Testing through the user interface of the application. Just like a manual tester will describe his test cases by using the user interface elements, the automated test is driving the user interface elements of the mobile application under test. By recognizing the user interface elements, the script becomes hardware independent. If a new version of the application under test is released, then preserved functionality can be tested with the old scripts. The tool will take care of cosmetic changes like a menu item that is now in a new position. By using the user interface elements, the script becomes also readable for a non-technical tester and the script is easy to maintain. 

•  Extension of existing scripting environments. M-eux Test did not implement its own scripting environment. In order to ensure a fast learning curve and to ensure re-use of gained expertise, M-eux Test is an extension of existing scripting environments. For users with a test engineering background, M-eux Test extends the leading test automation tool QuickTest Professional from Hewlett Packard. For users with a developer’s background, M-eux Test extends Visual Studio from Microsoft.

Blackberry GUI objects

M-eux Test is an all-round player and recognizes most of the user interface objects of Blackberry-based applications as long as these objects are developed using the Blackberry SDK. All Blackberry field objects are supported out of the box. User interface objects that are derived from these standard fields, are automatically mapped to these fields.

Blackberry System verification

Special functions are implemented to verify the Android operating system. The tester can at any time verify for example:

•         Technical characteristics of the device

•         The battery status

•         The connection information

Special functions are foreseen to launch and verify the mobile connections:

•         SMS messages

•         E-mail messages

•         MMS messages

Tool Architecture

An agent is installed on the mobile device. The agent is responsible for the recording and the replay of the test commands The Device is connected to the PC using WIFI. The Device Manager is the gateway between the connected devices and the extension inside QuickTest Professional or Visual Studio. The architecture allows the connection of multiple devices. One test script can execute against multiple devices.

Support level

Complete support is provided for Blackberry applications that are made testable by taking into account the directives of Jamo Solutions during development of the application.

The supported editions are listed in following table: