Bell Mobility Transforms Application Testing With Perfecto Scriptless Mobile

Bell Mobility achieved full testing coverage while streamlining complete testing life cycle with Perfecto.

Canadian wireless network operator Bell Mobility was frustrated by wasted time and increased costs associated with their previous testing platform. After adopting Perfecto, Bell Mobility achieved speedy, streamlined testing and peace of mind while saving resources and increasing automation.  

The Challenge

Bell Mobility was experiencing delays and headaches with their previous testing platform, with surprise costs at every turn: 

  • Inadequate Device Lab – Bell had to ship pre-production devices to their previous vendor, and the devices had to be opened and plugged into a circuit board. If anything was overlooked by the vendor in the process, Bell Mobility had to ship an entirely new phone — adding tremendous unnecessary cost. 
  • Limited Test Coverage – Due to the limited device lab and their dependence on physical devices, their test coverage was limited to the few devices. 
  • Wasted Time and Resources – Their previous platform took nearly two weeks with device integration and Bell Mobility had to wait on them to receive the module back every time, using handheld devices in the interim. Each delay led to added costs. 
  • Lack of Automation and Codeless Scripting – The nonexistent virtual device lab and lack of codeless automation meant that every step of the testing life cycle took longer. They were also worried about bugs or glitches being overlooked due to the lack of codeless scripting. 

The primary concerns that needed to be addressed included their inadequate device lab and test coverage, their lack of automation and codeless solutions, and the inefficiencies that led to delays and added costs. Their existing platform made the entire process cumbersome due to its dependence on in-hand devices. In fact, Bell Mobility used to regularly lose a month of development time from slow device turnaround.  

Bell Mobility tests 10-15 partner apps, including high-profile apps like TikTok, Crave, Virgin, PC Mobile, and TSN. In addition, they are in partnership with 30+ content providers. With their previous platform, they were testing on pre-production devices that had to be shipped to each individual provider, and they were responsible for paying roaming charges that resulted in millions of wasted dollars. The inefficient production process and short release cycles among their partner apps meant they were constantly worried about certain test cases being overlooked or having bugs.  

The Solution

With the risks and burden associated with their previous platform, Bell Mobility decided to look for an alternative. They needed a continuous testing platform that could not only provide a robust virtual device lab with comprehensive test coverage, but also a solution that could help them move toward automation and scriptless coding.  

In 2009, Bell Mobility discovered Perfecto at a CES booth in Las Vegas. That same weekend, Bell Mobility signed the contract with Perfecto.  

Perfecto offered Bell Mobility everything they were looking for and more. In contrast to their previous platform, Perfecto provided a 24-hour turnaround time and enabled devices to be plugged in and removed at any time. While their previous platform had to break open devices, Perfecto did not. 

Perfecto saved Bell Mobility both time and money by streamlining the testing life cycle and reducing risk. While deficiencies in their previous platform caused them to pay roaming charges on nearly 9000 active phones—which cost millions of dollars—and forced them to fly people to the United States just to do their final acceptance testing, Perfecto enabled Bell Mobility to create individual accounts for their content partners. Now, they can perform their testing on these devices directly without Bell Mobility having to ship devices or pay roaming charges. 

When Bell Mobility adopted the latest Perfecto Scriptless Mobile, they transformed their testing, enabling even non-experienced users to write automation scripts. This saves them money on outsourcing to automation developers and streamlines the testing process.   

“[Perfecto Scriptless Mobile] has helped us to meet timelines without having to manually pick up one device at a time and is much more efficient. The reporting makes it easier to present results and makes us look like geniuses, especially with the new vitals feature.” 
– Glen John, Product Manager | Device Integration at Bell Mobility 

With Perfecto Scriptless Mobile, tests are automated, so all scenarios are covered in testing and bugs are caught early in the process. For example, they can now test 100+ text messages being sent back and forth automatically rather than manually. They are able to mimic real-time customer usage by having multiple apps running simultaneously. They can view the results of their tests all in one place using Perfecto Smart Reporting, and with the addition of the new vitals feature, they can now see battery, network, and CPU usage as well.  

The Results

By adopting Perfecto as their platform, Bell Mobility was able to transform their testing experience with minimal ramp-up time and effort, eliminate dependency on coding, and free up time to focus on their business goals and their application.  

With Perfecto Scriptless Mobile, Bell Mobility can automate even the most complex native mobile use cases, including:

  • Biometric Authentication
  • Image Injection
  • Network Virtualization
  • Two-Factor Authentication
  • Quality Visibility
  • Mobile UX Measurements
  • Test Coverage
  • Accessibility 

By leveraging Perfecto’s Smart Reporting and Analytics, Bell Mobility can download full reports of their tests, as well as video, device logs, and more. They have gained the ability to see failure history over a specific period of time and filter by device, OS, and failure event. The reporting feature has streamlined the process of presenting these results to the executive team, eliminating the need for cumbersome spreadsheets.  

Throughout the duration of Bell Mobility’s partnership with Perfecto, they have:

  • Saved millions of dollars on roaming charges, device shipping, airline travel, and other costs.
  • Expanded to using virtual devices to increase their testing velocity.
  • Use of Perfecto Scriptless Mobile increased automation and transformed the entire testing life cycle.
  • Gained robust reporting and analytics through Perfecto’s Smart Reporting and vitals feature.
  • Reduced risk to partner apps like TikTok. Can now catch bugs early and often.
  • Greatly speeded up testing, now with a 24-hour turnaround time. Devices can be plugged in and removed at any time.
  • Even non-technical users can code with Perfecto Scriptless Mobile. 

Bell Mobility is now able to test with confidence through the seamless integration of Perfecto. They have greatly improved the speed and efficiency of their testing and reduced risk. With Perfecto Scriptless Mobile they are now able to automate complex native mobile use cases and experience unparalleled support as their business thrives.  

Transform Your Testing Experience With Perfecto

Perfecto is the continuous testing solution that enables you to scale the complexity of a wide range of tests across multiple devices, browsers, and OSs in one unified DevOps pipeline. Perfecto provides a cloud platform that helps you successfully automate and scale your testing strategy while maintaining comprehensive test coverage throughout your testing life cycle.  

To get started releasing high-quality apps with ease, sign up for a free trial of Perfecto Scriptless Mobile today! 

Start Trial