Manual Testing is a process carried out to find the defects. In this method the tester plays an important role as end user and verify all features of the application to ensure that the behavior of the application. It is very basic type of testing which helps to find the bugs in the application under test. It is preliminary testing, must be carried out prior to start automating the test cases and also needs to check the feasibility of automation testing. The Test Plan is created & followed by the tester to ensure that the comprehensiveness of testing while executing the test cases manually without using automation testing tool.
It is not necessary to have knowledge of any testing tool for manual software testing. As the Software testing fundamental always says that “100% Automation is not possible” so the Manual Testing is very important.
Goal of Manual Testing
The main Goal of Manual Testing is to make sure that the application under test is defect free and software application is working as per the requirement specification document.
This type includes the testing of the Software manually i.e. without using any automated tool or any script. In this type, tester takes over the role of end user and test the Software to identify any un-expected behavior or bug. There are different stages for Manual Testing like Unit testing, Integration testing, System testing and User Acceptance testing.
A test plan document is created by test lead which describes the detailed and systematic approach to testing a software application. Basically the test plan typically includes a complete understanding of what the ultimate workflow will be. To ensure the completeness of testing (100% test coverage) test cases or test scenarios are created. It also includes exploratory testing as testers explore the software to identify errors in it
After the testing is started the designed test cases or test scenarios will be executed & any differences between actual & expected results are reported as defects. Once the reported defects are fixed, the testers will retest the defect to make sure that the defects are fixed. The main goal of Software testing is to make software defect free & deliver good quality Product to customer.
Manual Testing types:
Here are different testing types; these types of testing can be carried out manually as well as using automation tool.
Difference Between Manual Testing and Automation Testing
| It will be used when the test case only needs to runs once or twice. | Automation testing will be used when need to execute the set of test cases tests repeatedly. |
| This testing will be very useful while executing test cases first time & may or may not be powerful to catch the regression defects under frequently changing requirements. | Automation testing will be very useful to catch regressions in a timely manner when the code is frequently changes. |
| It is less reliable while executing test cases every time. Using manual software testing it may not be perform test cases execution with same precision. | Automation tests will help to perform same operation precisely each time. |
| Simultaneously testing on different machine with different OS platform combination is not possible using this testing. To execute such task separate testers are required. | Automation testing will be carried out simultaneously on different machine with different OS platform combination. |
| To execute the test cases every time tester required same amount of time. | Once Automation test suites are ready then less testers are required to execute the test cases. |
| No programming can be done to write sophisticated tests which fetch hidden information. | Using Automation testing, Testers can program complicated tests to bring out of sight information. |
| It is slower than automation. Running tests manually can be very time consuming. | Automation runs test cases significantly faster than human resources. |
| It requires less cost than automating it. | Initial cost to automate is more than manual but can be used repetitively. |
| It is preferable to execute UI test cases using manual. | Sometimes can’t automate the UI test cases using automation testing. |
| To execute the Build Verification Testing (BVT) is very mundane and tiresome in Manual. | Automation testing is very useful for automating the Build Verification Testing (BVT) & it is not mundane and tiresome. |
Conclusion
In the testing software application the Testing using Manual makes a vital role. While doing manual activity the tester needs to be creative & patient. Testers need to play a role same as end user & execute the all test cases as per the end users point of view. In next article we will see about what is Automation testing?
If you are working in Manual Testing, your valuable inputs will help our readers to know more about Manual Testing. So please share your thoughts and tips on Manual Testing in comments below. For software testing latest updates subscribe the Software testing email newsletter here.