Ensuring quality of user interface in mobile applications!

United Testing Initiative (UTI), a collaborative organization focused on mobile

application quality and consisting of representatives from AT & T, LG, Motorola, Nokia,

Oracle, Orange, Samsung, Vodafone and Sony Ericsson have released the best

practice guidelines for developing quality mobile applications.

I have culled out the user interface portion of the best practice guidelines and I have converted them into quality guidelines of mobile applications. The user interface quality guidelines of mobile applications should certainly have the following features:

Keep the status bar hidden only when the application’s user interface is better

without it

Ensure that the back button always navigates through previously-seen screens

Make sure navigation between application elements are easy and intuitive

Ensure that the application uses relative layouts and device independent pixels,

without making any assumptions about screen size, resolution, orientation or

input.

Check if there are any hard coding of string values in code and strictly avoid

them

Ensure the time available is comfortable for reading what is present on the

screen

Check for the font sizes and readability of it by different user groups

Check the size of on-screen elements and its responsiveness on touch screens

Ensure that the application UI is consistent and becomes intuitive for usage.

Consistency should be ensured even when calculations or image-rendering

processes are being performed

Application speed should be given importance considering the various

influencing factors like connection speed, processing power of the device and the

platform needs

Error messages displayed should be easily understandable

5 second test – ensure that the function progress is known to the users within 5

seconds request time in real-time environment

Check for display consistency of applications in various formats like portrait and

landscape

Application should be devoid of spelling errors and technical text errors

This accounts for the most common user interface issues of mobile applications. Over

and above this, there may be specific needs of applications that have to be addressed

during the test case development process.

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