In a new study, Kobiton found strong adoption of AI for mobile app development and testing due to the potential productivity benefits – despite concerns about software quality and developer/tester career opportunities
Kobiton, a leader in mobile testing, has released a of a study on mobile app development and testing showing that the use of AI tools for mobile app development and testing is growing – with developers and testers ‘excited’ to further expand the use of these tools.
Frequent mobile app updates are being driven by demand: app users constantly want new features or bug fixes, and companies are anxious to maintain a competitive advantage and grow or solidify customer relationships.
But the report reinforces that updates are taking longer than most companies would like – leading many to deploy AI-based development and testing tools.
Slow mobile development is costing companies millions of dollars
Seventy five per cent of respondents to Kobiton’s survey said that slow mobile app release cycles are costing their companies at least $100,000 per year and 13% said it was costing them between $1m and $10m annually.
Since 75% of respondents said mobile apps were responsible for at least a quarter of their companies’ total revenue, slow-release cycles are not only a threat to company bottom lines but to the very viability of the businesses.
Inefficient processes, staffing issues and budget limitations are the root causes
According to Kobiton’s report, mobile app update delays are being driven by three issues: limited financial resources in the Developer and QA organizations; inefficient development and QA processes; and a lack of skilled developer and QA labor.
Forty percent of respondents said these issues are having a negative impact on customer satisfaction, 33% said it was causing missed revenue opportunities, and 26% said it was leading to an increase in developer churn.
AI-based mobile app development and testing to the rescue
Sixty percent of respondents said they are currently using generative AI tools in their QA cycles to update scripts or code, 55% said they are using these tools to analyze test results and 47% are using them to generate test scripts.
Fifty percent of respondents said they believe AI-driven test automation can eventually replace manual testing for mobile apps and 34% said they are excited about the potential of AI to increase software development productivity.
Meanwhile, 22% expressed concern that AI might negatively impact software quality and 20% said AI tools might hurt developer and tester career opportunities.
When asked which AI capabilities would be most beneficial to their organization’s mobile test automation strategy, a majority (51%) of respondents selected predictive analytics to forecast potential defects, followed by tools for generating test cases and test data (45%) and natural language processing tools for better test case documentation (44%).
“Witnessing firsthand the transformative power of AI tools in the realm of mobile app development and testing for our customers has been a remarkable journey,” said Kobiton CTO Frank Moyer. “By enhancing productivity, reducing costs, and enabling professionals to focus on more strategic tasks, AI is fundamentally reshaping the industry’s landscape. As these tools continue to evolve, I anticipate a profound and accelerated embrace of AI-driven methodologies.”
Software developers and testers responding to Kobiton’s survey span industries and are building a wide variety of mobile apps, ranging from social networking to video games and business tools.
A plurality of respondents (38%) said they are releasing mobile app updates weekly and 20% said they are updating daily.
One hundred developers and testers involved in the development of mobile apps responded to Kobiton’s survey in October.
A majority of the respondents (62%) are working in companies with at least $100 million in annual revenue.
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