Advantages and Disadvantages of Manual Testing

Manual Testing plays an important role in providing high-quality bug-free applications to users. It is also an essential part of the development cycle. Now, in the dynamic landscape with the rise of technology automated testing has been used.

However manual testing remains an important aspect of the quality assurance process. Manual testing involves hands-on operations on software applications which help in detecting bugs and issues. Which automated testing may miss. In this article, we will understand about the manual testing, Its advantages, and disadvantages.

What is Manual Testing

Manual testing is very essential step for ensuring the quality and user-friendliness of the software before providing it to users. In manual testing, human testers try to experience the software from the user’s perspective. and execute manual test cases accordingly. With the help of this, they can identify multiple defects in accessing functionality and validate user experiences within the software or application. While automated testing relies on predefined scripts or tools rather manual testing offers flexibility and adaptability as human touch is necessary to uncover some issues that automatic tests, might overlook. In the manual test, we first write the detailed test cases which will try to cover all scenarios. Then run these tests with the help of human testers and detect any defects if found then Load those bugs into the tracking system for fixing them. Then we will check that the new changes haven’t introduced any further problems.

Advantages of Manual Testing

• Flexibility and adaptability– Manual testing is highly flexible and is suitable for dynamic projects where requirements may change. If any changes are made human testers can frequently adapt to these changes & scenarios and judge according to new features or changes. But in automated testing, we need to change the whole script and reprogram the tool in case any changes are required.
• Cost-effectiveness- In small-scale projects where you cannot afford automatic testing then manual testing can be more cost-effective because it requires human testers and test the application based on several cases without the requirement of many tools or frameworks. It is highly, beneficial for small businesses.
• Human judgment and Intuition– Manual testing is controlled by humans. So humans can use their intuition and experience to explore the software in multiple ways. Which automated tests cannot. They will test the application based on their decided criteria. This human touch element is very important for understanding how the user will feel while using the application. Humans can access various aspects such as usability, user experience, and subjective aspects.
• Immediate feedback– Manual testing is simple and it allows immediate feedback the the test tester on new features and bug fixes of the application. Testers can access the application, check for the impact of changes, and directly provide insights to the developers. Which will ease the development process. Also, manual testers can identify. Defects in the developmental cycle. This will help in uncovering the bugs. Which are missed by automated tests and ensuring a smoother and more reliable experience.
• Test case diversity– In automated, testing the test cases are pre-decided and the application is checked satisfied based on those cases. But in manual testing testers get the freedom to design their test cases, boundary conditions, and negative scenarios that may not be easily automated. This provides more comprehensive test coverage and validates software under various conditions.

Disadvantages of Manual Testing

• Subjectivity- The result of the manual testing depends on the perspective of the human tester who is testing the application because the perceptions and interceptions of developers, and testers may vary. Which can affect the consistency of outcomes.
• Not reusable- The test cases created for manual testing apply to a specific version of software, but when the updates are made these test cases will become unusable and need to be rewritten. Which does not seem to be an effective use of resources and can lead increase the time. thus slowing the development process.

Conclusion

Hence, manual testing remains an important part of software development and quality assurance. Automatic. Automated testing has been rising with time but due to the human element manual testing will remain irreplaceable. Human testers can empathize with the end users, and provide insights about the user experience which cannot be done through the automated test. But manual testing also brings some challenges, such as Prone to human error, and time consuming. As the technology evolves, Manual testing will remain important to its core principles. As a manual team includes humans they also keep the emotions of users and make sure that the application not only meets the technical requirements but also engages and satisfies the users.

Frequently Asked Questions on Advantages and Disadvantages of Manual Testing:

What are the qualities of a good manual tester?

Ans: A good manual tester should pay attention to detail, have good analytical skills, have the patience to look into every part of it and have good communication skills to report what he found easily and simply.

Why manual testing cannot be replaced by automation?

Ans: Automation testing is good and can be used for multiple test cases, but it cannot replace the human intuition and insight which we gain from manual testing. That’s why it is essential for understanding the user experience and finding the issues which are not found by Automated testing.

How could you ensure Complete coverage of application in manual testing?

Ans: You can create different test cases according to usability of application, you can use Traceability matrices for tracking requirements and provide it to group of multiple testers because they will test by different perspectives and will test it with different mindsets and experience.

What are the biggest challenges in manual testing?

Ans: The biggest challenges in manual testing is the limited time to test a product, creating all important test cases and ensuring coverage of all features in test.