Commencis Improves App Quality andTime to Market with Device Farm

In line with Commencis’ ethos is to resist convention, our developers incorporate emerging technologies into apps we design and develop. They also look for ways to make our internal processes even better to improve app quality and time to market. And Commencis Device Farm is another significant improvement in our app development process.

We know that one of the biggest problems mobile application developers face is the necessity of performing tests on different devices for different platforms (hardware, operating systems, screen resolution etc.). Even though we left those times behind when we needed to change the whole physical device whenever there is a modification/upgrade/update in an operating system (OS); there are still hundreds of different models on the market -with more coming out- and app developers have to make sure apps work seamlessly on each one of them.

It gets even more complicated especially when tech companies have Test / Quality and Software Development teams in more than one location. This means an ongoing circulation of different devices, usually sent via courier/ cargo or similar services. This process is not only time consuming, but it also leads to situations where devices are lost or broken, or causes liability problems. On the other hand, it also adds a significant cost to purchase various up-to-date devices and position them at different locations.

Enters Commencis Device Farm

In order to solve these problems, we have designed and developed a software testing service platform, Commencis Device Farm, as a DTaaS (Device Testing as a Service).

Instead of developing such a framework from scratch, we have examined the most suitable opensource frameworks and built modules, business processes and integration improvements on the chosen framework. Accessed through a browser, Commencis Device Farm makes it possible to configure and report both functional and automation tests with the selection of over 35+ Android and iOS devices and browsers on mobile and Mobile Web Platforms.

Device Management: We can manage the implementation and the maintenance of physical and/or virtual devices.

Distributed Offices: Commencis has four offices, and not surprisingly the long distance between these offices is prolonging the device sharing processes. Thanks to Device Farm’s Remote Access feature, we are able to access real test devices connected to the Farm through Desktop Web Browsers at any time and from any office. Not only we easily run Manual & Automation tests, but we also prevent device circulation between our offices and such a waste of time.

Automation: We can run and report automated app tests on multiple Android and iOS devices within minutes.

Remote Access: Using the 3rd party software, we have the ability to connect to real devices through web browser and run manual tests. One important point is that, at the moment, the 3rd party tool allows remote access to only Android devices since it does not support iOS devices.

This blog post represents a short version of the presentation given by Commencis QA Team at İTÜ BeeTech 2018. Thanks to Arda Özerten, Gizem Sevici and Semih Şamakay for their contribution.