In SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle), software testing is one of the integral parts. The aim of software testing is to check whether the development team has built the software accurately as per the specification and requirements of the client.
All the reputed software development companies try to provide great software products to their clients. That is why, it is important to check the product features, functionalities, user experience features and qualities as well before handing over the product to respective clients.
Earlier, software testing was only performed manually; now, thanks to the availability of several tools and sophisticated technologies, automation testing is also being carried out.
Before moving forward in the article, it is necessary to have a clear idea regarding what is manual testing and what is automation testing.
What is Manual Testing?
While testing is performed without opting for any tool, it is referred to as manual testing. In the manual testing method, QA testers or QA Analysts create test cases for the codes and detect bugs and errors in the software application. Usually, experienced Software testers carried out the manual software testing process to check every important feature of the software application.
What is Automation Testing?
For executing the automation testing procedure, testers write test scripts for executing the automation testing. Automation testing usually takes less time compared to manual testing. Automation testing basically depends on pre-written test cases that run automatically to create a comparison between the actual testing and the expected testing. For developing test scripts as well as validating the software, the testers use relevant automation tools.
Two Advantages of Manual Testing
In certain scenarios, the manual testing method can detect both open and hidden software bugs and discrepancies between expected and actual outputs. Automation testing, despite using the latest technology, might miss it.
Here are the two benefits of manual testing:
- Human Interaction
When software development is at its initial stage, manual software testing can be the perfect option. In manual testing, the testers interact with the software as the actual users. They can easily detect any critical technical snags and UI issues as well.
- Adaptable Flexibility
Manual testing offers the flexibility to adapt to any emergency situation quickly. Manual testing can be seamlessly executed if there is a requirement of testing a new software feature or some User Interface suddenly. In the emergency scenario, manual testing can come handy as, within a small budget, you will be able to execute the testing process. Completely.
These two are the primary reasons companies are still performing manual testing.
Two Advantages of Automation Testing
Automation testing which is considered a part of advanced software testing is ideal to introduce in a project as a whole bunch of cases. Automation testing is good for checking the efficiency level of overall software development.
The two Automation testing advantages:
- Faster Result Delivery with Easy Reporting
Automation testing is conducted by using software tools which is why the testing procedure is quite faster than the manual process. When the same function has to be validated with a lot of different inputs and large data sets, automation testing can provide you with faster inputs. After the testing is done the automatically generated reports of testing will be sent via email.
- Cost-effective for Large Projects
For large-scale projects, the automation testing process is cost-effective compared to manual testing. Though automation testing requires an initial investment in the long perspective, the ROI is going to satisfy the users. As the automation testing process is conducted by using testing tools and scripts, it can provide more accurate and technically correct results.
These are the two advantages of automation testing.
Manual testing vs. Automation testing: How do you choose?
Ultimately, your choice between the two testing processes will depend on some of the factors listed below when deciding which testing method is best suited to your needs.
- Project Size and Budget
When the project size is large, integrated with a good number of complex features, and the budget is good for the software project; automation testing is the best testing procedure.
Manual testing can opt if the project size is small with not enough budget allocation.
- Utilization
Automation testing is ideal if you are doing Performance testing, Load testing, Regression testing, and highly repetitive functional testing.
For performing Ad-hoc testing, Exploratory testing; manual testing is highly recommended.
- Detecting Major User Issues
As the automation testing method is primarily dependent on test scripts without any human involvement, the testing method sometimes remains ineffective to detect problems like actual user issues.
On the other hand, manual QA testers break the program into several units and then check to detect the unexpected scenarios that a user may face.
For usability testing, the manual way is more reliable than automation testing.
- Code Changes Frequency
The automation testing process is better than manual testing if the code-changing procedure is done too frequently. In a scenario like this, the code changing in one module affects the other modules too. Then to test all the modules, automation testing is more appropriate.
- Reliability and Processing Time
In the aspect of reliability, automation testing is more effective as it is dependent on scripts and tools.
In the matter of processing time, automation testing is much faster than manual testing as human efforts are required for manual testing which makes the manual testing process slow.
- Parallel or Sequential Testing
Automation testing can provide you with the output if you need to run the test parallelly across different systems. When you need to carry out the test sequentially through a series of tests, manual testing will be the most appropriate choice.
- Stress, GUI, Error Testing
To measure the load capacity, volume, and stress; there is no substitute for automation testing. Even for Graphic User Interface testing, automation testing is highly capable. Manual testing is required to detect errors, unwanted hard disk crashes, and other issues.
This is an overall description regarding which situation you need to rely on and which kind of testing.
Conclusion
In the conflict between manual testing and automation testing, the conclusion we can come up with is we need both manual and automation testing as they perform different functionalities being part of the foundations of software testing. Manual testing is required for complex testing purposes and automation testing can help you with repetitive testing. It is entirely dependent on the project and what kind of testing is required for it.
Being an expert in both manual testing and automation testing, we can help software development companies by verifying and validating your new program, product, system, and application. Our highly skilled QA and testing team can perform all critical functions including the creation of test data, load testing, manual trials, and other tasks as advanced software testing procedures.
About Us:
Youngsoft India Pvt. Ltd. is an affiliate of Youngsoft Inc. that offers a full-service IT technology and consulting solution. Based in Hyderabad, India and together with Youngsoft Inc., we offer 24/7 support and solutions to clients across the globe.
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