As mobile devices continue developing, testing of the mobile devices becomes more and more complex. For example, mobile device manufacturers (factories) generally deploy some special or proprietary testing software, which is not reused or shared among factories. This increases the overall manufacturing costs. For each new-generation mobile devices, new testing software generally needs to be developed, including testing code (source code and object code) and testing interface (or testing user interface). Further, adding a test command or test item frequently requires modifying the testing interface and recompiling the source code, which makes it difficult to maintain the testing software. Still further, testing results (outputs of the testing software) are usually stored locally in the mobile devices or in a computer performing the tests, making it difficult for collecting testing data for statistics.
In addition to the complexity in the factories, testing of mobile devices during research and development (R&D) phase also becomes more complex. During this phase, testing is typically isolated and not collaborated. Oftentimes, testing is performed manually through the testing user interface and test automation is seldom used. At the same time, any specially created test code needs to be specifically maintained, increasing the research and maintenance costs.
Still further, diagnosing and testing mobile devices after sales becomes more complex. When issues arise after sales, it is difficult to remotely diagnose a mobile device that is in the customer's hand or on the customer's premise. Sometimes, a test engineer may need to be on site with the customer to examine the mobile device, which is expensive for the mobile device provider. Further, some issues may be beyond the knowledge or skills of one test engineer and may require a testing team's collaborate effort.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have improvements in testing systems, testing methodologies, and testing architectures for simplifying the testing of mobile devices.