Mobile App Testing

Senior approvers action most of their work on a phone. This protocol tests whether that's actually workable — not whether the system functions, but whether someone will use it.

Before you start

Prime four approvals to the test account:

1. A new project pending approval
2. A residual High or Very High risk routed to the approver
3. A GM self-approval escalation — where the GM named themselves as both Suggested GM and Suggested PL
4. A Budget or Variation at or above $100K, with the Finance stage already cleared

Device setup: the Smartsheet mobile app signed in, and the approver's work email on the same phone. Both are needed — approvals arrive through three different channels.

The scenarios

1. My Dashboard at a glance

Open My Dashboard in the app. Tasks, pending approvals, and deadlines should be readable without sideways scrolling or zooming.

2. Open an approval report

From User Specific Quick Links, open the pending project intake approval report. Open one item for a closer look.

3. Add three Ad Hoc Tasks in a row

Raise three back to back, assigning at least one to someone else.

Count the taps for the first. The second and third should be noticeably faster. Note anything that would put a senior user off doing this on a phone.

4. Approve a new project from My Dashboard

Find the primed project in Approvals and approve it entirely from the phone. The row should show enough context to make the decision without opening the sheet.

5. Approve a risk from the notification bell

Start from the bell. Tapping the notification should land on the correct row, already signed in. Read the risk and its mitigation plan, then approve.

6. Approve a self-approval escalation from email

Open the escalation email and action it using the email's approval buttons. If tapping a link instead, it should land signed in on the right item.

7. Approve a Budget or Variation from email

Action the primed item from email. Check the amount and surrounding context are visible — enough to sign off comfortably. Note anything missing.

8. Portfolio Dashboard — Risks & Incidents

Check Open Risks by Residual Rating, Very High & High Risks, and Incidents. Note any widget that reflows badly, truncates, or fails to load.

9. Portfolio Dashboard — Outcomes & Impacts

Same dashboard. Check the section renders and is readable at a glance.

What you're looking for

Not pass/fail — friction. Tap counts, truncated text, anything requiring a zoom, anything that fails to deep-link while signed in.

The three approval channels each need to work independently. Dashboard, notification bell, and email are separate paths to the same decision, and an approver will use whichever is in front of them.

Related articles

• My Dashboard
• Portfolio View
• Intake Automations and Approval Routing