To aid development in the mobile and smartphone app world, testers must do more than simply test against requirements; they should include attack-based testing to find common errors. In the tradition of James Whittaker’s How to Break Software books, Jon Hagar applies the testing “attack” concept to mobile app software, defines the domain of mobile app software, and examines common industry patterns of product failures. Jon then shares a set of ten software test attacks, based on the most common modes of failure in native, web-based, and hybrid apps. Developers and testers can use these attacks against their own software to find errors more efficiently. Jon describes why each attack works with its pros and cons. He provides information on how attacks can be used to cover many different quality attributes beyond testing only functionality.
Jon Hagar
Grand Software Testing
Jon Hagar is an independent consultant working in software product integrity, testing, verification, and validation. Jon publishes regularly on testing, including the book Software Test Attacks to Break Mobile and Embedded Devices (breakingembeddedsoftware.com). For more than thirty years, he has worked in software engineering, particularly testing, supporting projects which include control systems (avionics and auto), spacecraft, mobile-smart devices, and attack testing of smart phones. Jon is an editor for ISO, IEEE, and OMG standards.
Speaker Presentations