DesignTesting Framework

DesignTesting Framework is an automated testing tool for the evaluation of design requirements of iOS applications that I have developed for my master thesis during the internship at Volkswagen Group AppFactory. It was developed in Objective-C and can be linked within XCode project to every iOS application with the available source code.
While running the application on the mobile device, the DesignTesting Framework can be activated through the shaking motion of the device. My automated design testing tool goes recursively through the source code of the application, finds all UI elements presented on the screen, and defines their attributes. After that, the tool reads the customer and corporate design documents and compares the design requirements with the values in the application. Finally, the tool represents the test results in the structured PDF document. The DesignTesting Framework is able to verify the general design guidelines, the corporate design, and therequirementsof the customers concerning the visual appearance of the application. I have created the list of design requirements appropriate for the mobile applications, since most existing guidelines for the development of the GUI cannot be applicable for handheld devices.

Functionality


Test results

The DesignTesting Framework was tested with two iOS applications by 3 participants, and returned correct results for both of them. During the user study, qualitative and quantitative data were collected, including time, number of errors and satisfaction with the tool. The evaluation of DesignTesting Framework in a user study shows that it can reduce the time of the design testing process, especially using the tool for the large tests. The most significant outcome of the evaluation demonstrates that the use of my automated tool leads to more accurate and precise testing results, almost without errors, while the manual design testing causes a large number of errors. The users agree that the invention of DesignTesting Framework in the design testing process can reduce production costs, increase productivity and will lead to the development of more qualitative and visually appealing applications.

Full Version of Master Thesis