GAppium+: A Tool for Gamified Testing With Appium Inspector

Exploratory testing of mobile applications is a critical yet cognitively demanding activity, often perceived as tedious and repetitive. Gamification has emerged as a promising technique to address this challenge, by embedding game-design mechanics into non-ludic contexts to foster engagement and performance. In this paper, we present GAppium+, a gamified extension of Appium Inspector, a widely adopted tool for exploratory testing of mobile applications. GAppium+ enriches the testing experience through a set of mechanics – badges, leaderboards, levels, coverage tracking, and profile customization – grounded in established gamification theory. We report on a preliminary in-vivo evaluation conducted with PhD/scholarship students, who interacted with GAppium+ under controlled conditions. Post-session questionnaire results indicate a generally positive reception: participants rated gamification favorably overall (avg. 3.73/5), with badges scoring highest in terms of motivational impact (avg. 4.10/5), and broad agreement that gamification is a viable and beneficial approach for exploratory testing.