With the trend of ‘fast and now’ entering every aspect of lives, it is not surprising that development teams too jump onto the bandwagon of automated testing. For most testers automated QA testing is the Holy Grail. Automated testing is the best for regression testing and for digging out components that may be obsolete and unwanted.
When automated scripts are developed for the purpose of checking the operational functionality of a project, automated testing works great, and it is a brilliant option for several projects. However, given the absence of human factor, there is a possibility that something is overlooked, which a human tester would be able to detect. A human presence is required to drive even the most sophisticated automated suites. However, in the critical to success realm of user experience, nothing beats manual testing since first impressions are as essential as functionality. The good news is that a business does not need to be adept at QA testing – manual or automated – since QA outsourcing is a safer, inexpensive, and highly reliable option, and a company can choose from the top QA outsourcing companies making their mark today.
Using Manual Testing – why and when
The human intelligence and ability cannot be replaced especially when trying to build a connection with the end users. Smoke tests are best done through manual testing since it would be a lot more efficient and faster for a tester to analyze the application for hardcore readiness testing, as opposed to write scripts for automated testing. A human tester would be more adept at checking language usage, critical localization aspects, and other factors that could impact the success of an app targeting several regions across a country or across countries. A manual test involves a tester to conduct a number of tests to detect bugs / errors / defects that could possibly occur, and the tester would use every scenario possible where a user could face an issue. It is a misconception that manual testing would work only for short-term projects or projects with stringent deadlines.
Manual QA testing benefits a project in several ways. It is better for testing small batches, proving to be a more cost-effective method. Top software testing companies will tell you that manual testing works best for UIs and UX (User Interfaces and User Experience). In the nascent stages of a project, changes are a constant and this is when manual testing works best.
It is speedier than constantly updating an automated script every time there is a change in a feature or a new one is added. This also means that manual testing is a lot more flexible – it allows for speedily testing results against each other rather than testing the entire process. On the human resource front, manual testers are easier to source and train and they are more adept at identifying possible glitches which automated test scripts may not be able. In addition, manual testers ‘interact’ with software in the same way that end users would, and hence are more successful in finding user interface and usability problems. Automated test scripts cannot do this.
Manual testing supports ad hoc testing – it goes beyond the boundaries of planning and preparation to test and dive straight into portions that could seem problematic, and fixes them. Manual QA testing is able to uncover false positive and negatives, which sometimes are overlooked in automated testing. Automated test scripts too can contain bugs in the same way as code. By including the human element, these errors and defects can be easily avoided.
As mentioned earlier, not everything should or can be automated. Certain features in an app or system are best tested manually, since in the time required to write an automated test, a manual test would clear out the bugs successfully. It is necessary to seek the help of a reputed QA outsourcing company, who will be able to guide you on the best possible testing methods.
In some areas, automated testing is the answer since it saves times, and offers swift results on a macro level. However, in order to connect and engage end users and understand their problems conceptually and emotionally, manual testing is the only answer. The human touch adds a component of warm and empathy, which customers easily relate to and expect.
In Conclusion
Testing of any kind is an indispensable component in the realm of software development, and conducting the necessary and appropriate tests on the software ensures that your product is top quality. Both manual and automated testing have their benefits, and both need to be a part of your QA strategy, but only an expert in the realm of QA testing will be able to give you the best of both. Testing is a service, which must be done with care and empathy – connect with us for this and much more.
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