It’s no secret that the AI revolution has been taking the business world by storm. As of the end of 2022, over one-third (35%) of businesses used AI solutions. This statistic reveals that a significant number of organizations view AI as the next great leap in business process optimization. Used appropriately, AI tools have the potential to magnify the capabilities of team members, enable businesses to automate redundant workflows, and can support product development efforts.
The rapidly evolving technology has made its way into countless verticals, including mobile app development. AI is already changing the game for DevOps teams worldwide by enabling them to design and test mobile apps with unmatched efficiency. If your team has been looking for a better way to build and test its mobile apps, implementing AI technology into the DevOps workflow may be the answer.
Let’s dive deeper into AI mobile app development testing to discuss what it is and how it can help solve a major dilemma for app developers.
What is AI mobile app development?
AI mobile app development is the process of using AI technologies to streamline or augment DevOps and testing workflows. Specifically, AI technology can help automate the traditionally manual tasks associated with testing and developing applications, and especially those that are repetitive or tedious. For example, AI solutions can help DevOps teams test their apps more extensively or earlier in the production, thus identifying potential flaws and refining the product before launch.
Of course, AI does not completely eliminate the need for manual testing — at least not yet. Chances are that we’re still along way from an entirely self-testing platform. However, DevOps professionals can begin implementing AI mobile app development tools to automate a significant amount of their required testing, potentially saving countless hours and resources.
That’s why mobile app developers (and professionals in almost every other major industry) are gravitating toward the unique selling point of AI technology. According to The McKinsey Global Institute, 70 percent of businesses will adopt some form of AI technology by 2030.
Clearly, business leaders are intrigued by the idea of maximizing productivity and increasing efficiency by leveraging AI.
The great dilemma of app development: Cut corners or bust budgets?
In the interest of saving money and time, developers often decide to cut corners and perform only the most essential testing — if that. But ultimately, that approach leads to significant problems. Many times, these problems are overlooked until an app is launched, hurting adoption rates and eroding consumer trust. So while a DevOps team may conform to a client’s budget and timeline, it’s at the expense of the integrity of the final product.
Automated testing has partially solved this problem, allowing developers to conduct more testing without busting budgets or throwing deadlines out the window. However, the need for hand-coded test creation still serves as a roadblock to fully automated testing. That’s where AI comes in.
The intersection of AI and DevOps
While automated mobile app testing software has been around for several years, they’ve shared one major flaw: Traditionally, even automated tests must be coded manually first, and they also have to be adjusted and modified by skilled programmers.
With the right AI tools, DevOps teams can set up and modify automated tests with little to no coding. The AI platform will help with the technical aspects of setting up and running a test, and all the user has to do is point and click.
When implemented strategically across the entire development workflow, AI can support other processes as well. For instance, according to recent research, combining big data and AI tech enables organizations to automate approximately 70% of data processing tasks and 64% of data collection tasks (such as gathering and reviewing test results).
Automating these critical processes can lead to major cost savings for developers and their clients. This has become more important than ever, as app development costs and US-based app developer salaries are at all-time highs—if you can find them to hire at all. According to some estimates, the annual cost of hiring a single US app developer is $105,000, and developing a medium-complexity app can cost $48,000. But AI has the potential to dramatically lower these costs by freeing your specialists up to work on higher priority projects—like improving a product by way of innovation—rather than having them test your software.
Why AI, and why now?
Modern apps are becoming increasingly complex by the day. After all, as the capabilities of mobile devices evolve, mobile apps have to grow with them. But manually testing sophisticated mobile apps can be impractical, cost-prohibitive, and time-consuming.
To keep pace with demand, developers are turning to AI-assisted mobile app development and low-code or no-code dev tools. According to Gartner’s latest forecast, this trend will lead to a 19.6% increase in the low-code development tech market size between 2022 and 2023, translating to a value of $26.9 billion.
This means that while most DevOps teams are still doing things the old-fashioned way, developers can gain an edge over their competitors by embracing AI development technologies. And we all know app competition is fierce out there.
Considering the benefits of AI mobile app development
AI mobile app development offers distinct benefits when compared to manual processes and traditional automation tools. By incorporating AI into your app development workflow, you can potentially accomplish the following:
Expedite the DevOps process
Mobile app trends come and go in the blink of an eye. If you want to capitalize on the latest consumer trends, you need to get quality apps to market fast. AI mobile app development technology will help you do that.
With the right AI-augmented solution, developers can experience execution speed improvements. For instance, if you use AI tools to assist with testing result analysis, your team could quickly identify and remedy coding issues that are impacting performance.
Test applications more thoroughly
It’s hard to overstate how important testing is. You only get one first impression. If your app falls flat when it is released, it can be impossible to regain any momentum. Therefore, you must thoroughly test your application before release.
AI mobile app development tools can help you tadequately test your applications without driving up costs. With the benefits of AI technology at your fingertips, your team can embrace tried-and-true strategies like shifting left and continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) while cutting down on repetitive tasks.
Deliver a higher-quality product
In truth, your customers will enjoy the most significant benefits from AI mobile app development, as the overall quality of your applications will improve when your team can run more extensive tests.
Automating the testing process not only enables your team to uncover and fix bugs but also gives them more time to work on exciting new features for the application that they can then use to refine the user interface, add requested capabilities, and much more.
Reduce the workload on developers
Burnout needs to be taken seriously. According to recent data, 58% of development and security professionals are suffering from burnout. While there are many factors that contribute to it, an excessive workload can certainly leave team members feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and frustrated.
AI mobile app development technology is not a burnout “cure-all,” but it can certainly reduce the burden on your staff. When you shift some responsibilities off their plate, they’re likely to feel happier and more productive—especially if a lot of those tasks were repetitive. Proactively addressing worker fatigue can also help you boost morale and reduce attrition rates.
Embrace mobile app development with Sofy
Intelligent mobile app development can reshape the way your team tests its applications. By working with a reputable company that leverages cutting-edge technology, you can create better apps faster, meet tight deadlines, and stay on budget.
For example, powered by OpenAI’s GPT innovations, Sofy Co-Pilot provides you and your QA team the intelligence and capabilities of a personal assistant. Get a demo to test run Sofy Co-Pilot for yourself.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed above are those of the contributor and do not necessarily represent or reflect the official beliefs or positions of Sofy.
