What is Manual Testing?
In software development, manual testing is the process of executing test cases and checking for defects in a software application without using any automated tools.
The goal is to find bugs, usability issues, and inconsistencies with the expected behavior of the application, by interacting with the application from an end-user’s perspective.
During manual testing, testers follow a prescribed test plan that contains detailed scenarios that need to be covered.
They determine whether the software behaves the way it is supposed to and check the output of the program against the results specified in the requirements. Any discrepancies found will be reported as bugs.
This is why manual testing is an integral part of the software development lifecycle as it can find both visible and difficult-to-spot bugs like user interface issues or user behavior irregularities which automation can miss.
This article explores the need for manual testing as well as when and how organizations should conduct manual testing.
Why Organizations Need to Perform Manual Testing?
Organizations still use manual testing even though automated testing is gaining prominence. This is because manual testing addresses critical aspects of software validation that automated tools cannot fully achieve. Here’s why manual testing remains essential:
1. Human Perspective
Manual testing assesses an application from an actual user perspective to check for usability, accessibility, and experience. Testers can detect aesthetic and functional problems that automated programs may miss.
2. Exploratory Testing
Manual testing is best suited for situations where there are no predefined instructions or test cases. This means that testers can leverage their creativity and intuition to find out buggy behavior or inconsistencies that might not have been anticipated, especially in new and dynamic systems.
3. Dynamic Adaptability
Requirements change through the course of development. Manual testing enables to modify the test approach on the fly according to changing scenario. On the contrary, automation requires scripts to be modified which increases time and cost.
4. Un-automatable Scenarios
Some tests — such as those based on user interactions or intricate edge cases — are difficult to automate. Manual testing provides the flexibility to validate such scenarios effectively.
5. Cost Efficiency for Small Projects
Setup costs and maintenance are high for automation testing. When smaller projects or infrequent tests need to be executed, manual testing serves as a more time and cost-efficient option.
When is the Right Time to Do Manual Testing?
Manual testing is crucial for scenarios where human intuition, creativity, and adaptability are required. Organizations should choose manual testing in the following situations:
1. Exploratory Testing
Manual testing is useful in the early stages of an application or when documentation is sparse. It allows testers to understand user behavior and find bugs by exploring the software.
2. Usability Testing
Manual testing encompasses evaluating the user interface, experience, and accessibility of an application. It requires human judgment to identify design flaws or areas for improvement in these areas.
3. Ad-Hoc Testing
Manual Testing is best suited for unscripted, on-the-fly testing. Testers write and execute test cases on an ad-hoc basis rather than relying on predefined test scripts. This helps them to identify new issues which may not fall under specific categories.
4. Short-Term or One-Off Projects
In cases of small projects or applications that will only be used temporarily, manual testing is cheaper than spending time on automation setup.
5. Complex Scenarios
Testing scenarios that involve complex business processes or real-time decisions or involve multi-platform interaction are usually better carried out manually due to their dynamic nature.
6. Frequent Changes in Requirements
In situations where requirements are changing rapidly, manual testing provides the flexibility and adaptability needed to validate accurately without the overhead of maintaining automated scripts.
7. First-Time Automation Setup
Before implementing test automation, manual testing helps in understanding the application, identifying critical areas, and creating a baseline for automation.
How to Perform Manual Testing
Manual testing involves a structured approach to validate a software’s functionality, usability, and performance. Below are the key steps involved in the manual testing process:
1. Requirement Analysis
Manual testing begins with the understanding of software’s functional and non-functional requirements. In this part, testers define what the system is for, what the users expect from the system, the scope of testing, and how ambiguities will be resolved with stakeholders.
2. Test Planning
Developing a test plan serves as a roadmap for testing activities. This includes defining objectives, testing scope, test deliverables, environment setup, schedules, and resource allocation. Stakeholder collaboration ensures accuracy and adaptability.
3. Test Case Design
Test cases are developed to establish step by step guidelines to test the functionality of any software. They must account for every possible scenario and include preconditions, test steps, and expected results. Test cases are documented for reuse and clarity.
4. Setting Up the Test Environment
A stable test environment mimicking the production setup is prepared. This involves configuring hardware, software, and network settings, and generating realistic test data to ensure reliable test execution.
5. Test Case Execution
Testers perform prescribed test cases, documenting results and noting discrepancies. Test cases are marked as passed, failed, or skipped based on outcomes. Test management tools like TestRail, JIRA, and Azure DevOps can be used to organize and track test cases, defects, and results efficiently.
6. Defect Logging
In the case of discrepancies, testers log defects providing all relevant information, including severity, steps to reproduce, expected behavior, and actual behavior. Detailed defect reports, with screenshots, logs, and precise reproduction steps, ensure clear communication with developers.
7. Retesting and Regression Testing
Test scripts are re-run once defects are fixed to ensure that they are properly resolved. Regression testing helps to make sure that recent changes do not significantly affect the existing features. High-risk areas are prioritized during regression testing.
8. Analyzing Results and Reporting
The logs of the test execution are analyzed to determine the results, compare the expected and actual results, and understand coverage gaps.
Finally, a test report is generated indicating how many test cases have been executed, their pass/fail status, as well as defects found and whether they have been resolved.
Key test metrics like test case coverage, defect density, and execution efficiency help measure the testing process’s effectiveness and guide improvements.
9. Test Closure
The last step is consolidating the test results, lessons learned, and recommendations in the closure report. It points out lessons learned and encourages improving future testing efforts.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Manual Testing
Manual testing offers unique strengths but also presents challenges, making it crucial to evaluate its suitability for specific projects.
Advantages:
1. Human Intelligence and Flexibility
Testers can adapt dynamically, think creatively, and explore scenarios beyond pre-defined test cases, making it suitable for changing requirements and exploratory testing.
2. Usability and Accessibility Insights
Manual testing provides real-time feedback on user experience, design flaws, and accessibility compliance that automated tools may overlook.
3. Early Defect Detection
It identifies bugs in UI/UX during the early stages of development, ensuring better software usability.
4. Cost-Effectiveness for Small Projects
For short-term or small-scale projects, manual testing requires fewer resources and is often more economical than automation.
5. No Need for Programming Skills
Testers can easily start without extensive technical expertise, reducing the learning curve.
Disadvantages:
1. Time-Consuming
Manually executing test cases is slower than automated testing, especially for large-scale systems or repetitive tasks.
2. Prone to Human Error
Fatigue and oversight can result in missed defects or inconsistent test results.
3. Limited Scalability
Manual testing is inefficient for complex systems requiring extensive regression or performance testing.
4. Lack of Reusability
Test cases need to be recreated and re-executed for every new iteration, increasing redundancy.
5. Subjective Results
Different testers may interpret the same test case differently, leading to variability in outcomes.
6. Repetitive Tasks:
Although manual testing is crucial in cases of exploratory and usability testing, repetitive tasks such as regression testing, performance verification, and other predictable scenarios are usually carried out by automation tools. This ensures efficiency and accuracy in large-scale testing efforts.
Conclusion
Manual testing will always fill an irreplaceable role in quality assurance because of its human-centric approach.
Despite its benefits of being adaptable and having human-centric insights, manual testing has limitations in speed and scalability, highlighting the importance of maintaining a balanced approach.
A hybrid strategy that utilizes both manual and automated testing methods maximizes efficiency and coverage. Automation is a great solution for repetitive tasks and makes the testing process more scalable. Together, they create a comprehensive testing strategy.