PLUS QA’s Mobile Device Lab
When we moved in our new space two years ago, we built a room to store all of our mobile devices. Over time we ran into a few challenges:
- How do we track who is using a specific device at a specific time?
- How do we store devices in a secure way, that is also easy to access for testers?
- How do we consistently access the list of all our devices online?
- How do we keep devices charged so they are always ready for testing?
Initially, we had one large safe with shelves for devices, with laptops and desktops housed separately. We quickly grew our device library to the point that we needed to start storing devices outside the safe during the day for testers to have easy access. They were well organized in flat file cabinets. This created extra work in the beginning and end of the day, as we placed the devices back in the safe each night for security. Also, with no charging capacity in the safe or flat file cabinets, some devices would die overnight or during the day. This would again cause extra work for testers to rotate devices in a small charging station as needed. During the day we used a dedicated channel in Slack, a team messaging app, to track down devices that were actively being used by testers. This worked, but created extra noise for testers throughout the day as there could often be a flow of messages. Right now our mobile device library includes more than 175 phones and tablets and over 40 desktop stations dedicated to testing web and mobile apps.
We worked with different members from our team to create a spacious and organized library.
A Secure Device Room
Our new device room needed to be completely secure - so that meant closing the ceiling, installing 2 different video camera surveillance systems (in case one ever goes down), an electronic keypad that we can update the code every 60 days, and a thick door connected to our main office alarm. The entire process took about 3 weeks.
Charging Stations
Much like our inspiration design, each of our devices has a dedicated home and charger. Devices rest on shelves connected to power strips. iPhones, iPods, and Android phones live on one wall, while iPads and Android tablets live on the other. Older, less popular devices stay in the safe and in a cabinet in the device room. We labeled devices on each shelf with a strip of dry-erase sticker to make any future changes painless, but the marker does wipe off easily and labels on the top shelf can be difficult to see. We’re still exploring a better permanent labeling system.
Checking Devices in and out
To solve the problem of device checkout, we turned to Trello. Trello is a great visual organization tool - its uses are endless. In our lab, each Trello ‘list’ contains a different type of device with an assigned color. iPhones, iPads, Android phones, and Android tablets are organized into separate lists. The card system also gave us the opportunity to identify identical devices by UDID or serial number, saving testers time as they look for the exact device they need. Testers access the Device Lab Trello board either from their desktop or from one of two tablets in the device room. They add themselves as a member to the device card they’re checking out and drag the card to the ‘In Use’ list. If a tester is looking for a specific device, they can check the ‘In Use’ list to see who has it, then privately message that person or leave a comment on the card to reserve the device next.
We’ve seen a noticeable decrease in chatter on our #device-hunt Slack channel, and as we go forward, we’re hoping the new checkout system will increase efficiency and focus. The Trello board is also a great way to keep track of where all our devices as a convenient, accessible list online. We’re still streamlining the device room system and checkout process. It’s not necessary for devices to be charging all the time - but devices have to be charged and ready for use in the morning, and there are still devices that need to stay plugged in at all times due to battery issues. Testers also need to remember to keep the ‘In Use’ list current after they’re done with a device. As our company and device collection continue to grow, we’re excited to find new ways to make our library even easier to use.
Do you have any tips for setting up a device lab? Any questions? Let us know in the comments!
