Testdroid's maker Bitbar has recently announced the integration of Testdroid mobile app testing products with Atlassian JIRA defect tracking system.

The Testdroid platform includes Testdroid Cloud, a device farm that can be deployed both in the cloud or privately, and Testdroid Recorder, a tool for developers and testers for recording user-actions and producing Android JUnit test cases. Testdroid Cloud is the first Testdroid product supporting JIRA integration.

Testdroid provides an API available on GitHub and can use testing frameworks such as Google's Robotium, Appium, and Google's uiautomator for native apps and Selenium for web applications.

InfoQ has interviewed Testdroid technical product manager Ville-Veikko Helppi to better understand how developers and organizations could benefit from the Testdroid/JIRA integration.

InfoQ: Could you please introduce briefly the Testdroid platform and explain its main features? What are the kinds of developer profiles you think could benefit from its use?

Testdroid product family is targeted for mobile app/game/service developers and different deployment options of Testdroid provide a way to efficiently develop, test and verify the correct behavior of Android and/or iOS apps/games/services. Testdroid Cloud is a public device farm wherein developers can access any of these devices either manually, with test automation frameworks or through API. The typical user of Testdroid Cloud is an app or game developer that wants to access devices instantly, 24/7, but doesn’t want to host/run their own devices. We keep our roster constantly up-to-date with all latest and greatest Android and iOS devices globally. For example, currently the coverage of different Android devices at Testdroid Cloud is about 95% in Android volumes, globally.

is a public device farm wherein developers can access any of these devices either manually, with test automation frameworks or through API. The typical user of Testdroid Cloud is an app or game developer that wants to access devices instantly, 24/7, but doesn’t want to host/run their own devices. We keep our roster constantly up-to-date with all latest and greatest Android and iOS devices globally. For example, currently the coverage of different Android devices at Testdroid Cloud is about 95% in Android volumes, globally. Testdroid PrivateCloud provides a way to have dedicated devices to be hosted by Testdroid team and it provides very an easy and handy way to make sure devices are 24/7 accessible by any of your teams. The typical user is a company who wants/needs access to devices any time and typically for vertically distributed teams, and does not want to host their own devices either.

provides a way to have dedicated devices to be hosted by Testdroid team and it provides very an easy and handy way to make sure devices are 24/7 accessible by any of your teams. The typical user is a company who wants/needs access to devices any time and typically for vertically distributed teams, and does not want to host their own devices either. Testdroid Enterprise is an on-premises software that connects with your own devices and provides “in-house cloud” for your development and testing needs. Typical user of Testdroid Enterprise is a bank or any other company that cannot use public cloud service. Also, Testdroid Enterprise is a great option for regular app/game developers if they have invested in devices already and are willing to operate their own in-house development and testing lab.

InfoQ: How would an organization go about to effectively use the Testdroid platform to its best?

We’ve built all Testdroid products to be a part of Agile process and back-up different deployment models, but naturally it really depends on organization’s current tools, practices and processes. Our philosophy and the focus from the beginning have been “agile with test automation”. For example, users can create tests using one device and then run that test on hundreds of real devices and get results quickly with rich feedback (screenshots, logs, results). If one wants to get rid of maintaining devices, or needs an access to different teams in different geos, or cannot upload anything to public services, there is a deployment option of that choice available with Testdroid.

InfoQ: How does Testdroid integrates with JIRA? Could you sketch a few basic scenarios and use cases where the Testdroid/Jira integration will provide a value?

For example, a mobile app developer uploads an APK to Testdroid Cloud either manually (login -> upload) or using API (function call from their build system in JSON format) and runs that APK on hundreds of different real devices. Some devices are spot out with problems with screen, memory or performance – or any feature built into that application. When this problem is found, a JIRA issue can be instantly created with all possible feedback (screenshot, log item/detail or other explanation of wrong behavior). All this happens in minutes. Developers building the application will get notified about wrong behavior, bug or any other problem in app instantly and can jump on fixing the problem. This drives the development-testing cooperation in a whole new level.

InfoQ: What you see on the horizon for mobile testing platforms?