An Empirical Study on Performance Issues, Their Causes, and Solutions in Android Apps

Abstract

With the growing popularity of mobile apps, their complexity and resource demands have increased as end users seek more sophisticated features. This rise in complexity often leads to performance issues, which have become a significant concern for developers and are now seen as critical for maintaining competitiveness in the market. In this thesis, we conduct an empirical study aimed at analyzing performance issues, their causes, and solutions in Android apps. To achieve this, we performed first of its kind study to examine 385 Stack Overflow (SO) Q&A posts out of total 6059 posts. We qualitatively analyzed and formulated three taxonomies: one each for performance issues, causes, and its solutions. Our study identifies key categories of performance-related issues, including UI/UX & Graphics, Development/Coding Practices, Performance Optimization, and Data/Database Handling. Similarly, the main categories for causes of performance issues include Inefficient User Interface Design, Poor Resource Management, and Lack of Development/Coding Practices among others. These comprehensive taxonomies serve as a checklist or guide for developers to help them identifying, knowing the causes (diagnosing), and resolving performance issues in their app development.