Automated functional testing of mobile applications: a systematic mapping study

Context Testing is a critical and costly activity in the life cycle of a mobile application, due to the growing request of new applications and to the rapid evolution of mobile devices and frameworks. Testing automation may represent an effective solution to improve the quality of mobile applications and to reduce testing costs. Objective We have performed a systematic mapping study to find, analyze, and classify papers in the scientific literature that are related to the automation of functional testing of mobile applications with the aim to provide a classification scheme useful for researchers and practitioners to have a clear view of the state of the art and to easily find existing solutions to their issues. Method We have conducted the study on the basis of a set of 18 research questions. Search queries have been formulated and applied to 7 search engines and the resulting papers have been filtered by considering sets of inclusion and exclusion criteria. The selected papers have been systematically classified and, in addition, a bibliometric analysis has been performed. Results A systematic map including 131 papers has been obtained and is publicly available. The papers have been classified on the basis of the supported testing activities, the characteristics of the techniques and tools they present, and the evaluation methodologies adopted to validate them. The bibliometric analysis has allowed the identification of the most active researchers, the most attractive venues, and the most influential papers. Conclusions The analysis of the systematic mapping has allowed the identification of some research trends and gaps in this field of study. For example, we have observed a strong prevalence of Android-based approaches, a lack of contributions from industry, and the absence of specific venues and journals focused on mobile testing automation.