Quality of Mobile Applications

Mobile applications have a well-established market and have grown popular since the introduction of app store distribution models. These systems are directly influenced by context variations, the use of mobile device sensors, usability considerations, and many other unique features that distinguish mobile applications from other types of software. While app stores provide quality guidelines with generic recommendations for publishing apps, these recommendations fail to address all the specific needs and use cases of mobile applications. Similarly, quality models for software product assessment are generally designed to be applicable to any type of software. However, these models can be tailored to specific contexts.

This research proposes a set of context-specific quality characteristics for mobile applications, derived from the adaptation of quality models defined in international standards. These characteristics were used to extend the ISO/IEC 25010 quality models. The identification process involved a systematic mapping and a survey conducted with mobile application users. Following the identification of these quality characteristics, an evaluation procedure for mobile applications is also proposed. This procedure is adapted from an existing software evaluation model. The feasibility of the proposed procedure was validated through the evaluation of a mobile banking application currently available on the market.