Design of a Unified Automation Framework for Cross-Platform Mobile Application Testing

Abdulkarim Bello, Aisha Kabir Galadanci, Aminu Muhammad Bui, Umar Halliru

Abstract


Mobile device diversity and fragmentation present significant challenges for the effective testing of mobile applications. Existing frameworks such as Appium, while popular, often require maintaining separate test suites for Android and iOS, leading to increased effort, higher maintenance costs, and inconsistent testing outcomes across platforms. Additionally, these frameworks struggle to accommodate platform-specific UI elements, device capabilities, and performance variations, which can compromise test accuracy and defect detection rates, ultimately impacting user experience and application reliability. This work addresses these challenges by proposing a Unified Automated Cross-Platform Testing Framework (UACPTF) that provides a single, platform-agnostic testing protocol for both Android and iOS applications, thereby eliminating the need for separate WebDriver protocols for each platform. The framework integrates a unified driver and a centralized orchestration mechanism, reducing the need for multiple test suites and streamlining the testing process. The UACPTF aims to improve test coverage, defect detection rates, and overall testing efficiency without compromising accuracy. The framework's performance was evaluated through rigorous experiments involving several open-source applications such as WordPress, Telegram, and others. Results demonstrate that UACPTF significantly outperforms existing tools like Appium and Patrol, achieving a defect detection rate of up to 15% higher and expanding test coverage by 20%. Furthermore, the unified approach reduces test maintenance effort by approximately 30%, resulting in faster feedback cycles and reduced testing costs. These findings affirm that UACPTF offers a scalable, reliable, and efficient solution for cross-platform mobile application testing, ensuring higher-quality and more consistent user experiences across heterogenous mobile ecosystem. 


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