Manual Testing Vs Automation Testing: A Brief Guide

Introduction  

The software testing process is done while developing software. It’s a process of checking, verifying, and validating the requirements of the product.  

Initially, testing was done manually. However, today everyone is looking for an easy life, so why not testers? And thus, automation testing came into the picture.  

With the advent of automation testing, manual testers and recruiters started to fear losing their jobs. But instead of just worrying about the effects of automation testing, we need to understand the benefits of automation testing and to what extent we can use it for testing purposes.  

What is Manual Testing?   

Manual testing is when software tests are executed manually by a QA analyst (mostly found working with QA testing services). It is being done to find bugs in software under development.   

In Manual testing, the tester really takes a look at every one of the essential features of the given application or software. In this cycle, the software testers create the test reports without the assistance of any automation software testing tools.  

It is a classical method for all testing types, and it even helps in finding bugs in software systems. Manual testing, for the most part, is conducted by an accomplished tester to achieve the product testing process. 

What is Automation Testing? 

Automated software testing (Offered by QA automation services) is when testers write code/test scripts to automate test execution. Here, in automation testing, testers use appropriate tools to develop the test scripts and validate the software. The main aim is to complete test execution in less time. 

Automated testing totally depends on the pre-scripted test which runs automatically to compare actual results with the expected results. This helps the tester to determine whether an application performs or not as per the expectation.  

Automated testing permits you to execute repetitive tasks and regression tests without the mediation of a manual analyzer. Despite the fact that all processes are performed automatically, automation requires manual effort to make introductory testing scripts. 

Why Automation Testing is Important? 

Manual testing has some limitations. Many times, we have to do testing repeatedly, which can be boring. And testing with valid and invalid inputs can even make you irritate.  

As we are humans, we easily get irritated with repetitive tasks, but on the other hand, we just don’t want to compromise with the quality.  

Time limitation is the main thing when we discuss the release of the product. In the event that development teams neglect to finish the development process on schedule, the organization loses clients, and nobody can manage the cost of this. 

For example, testing software with negative inputs could be time-consuming. 

Cost is a significant imperative for any software development process. Upkeep expenses can be a significant issue for undetected defects. Automation comes into the image to overcome every one of the above issues. 

Following are the few pointers that justify the reason for using Automation Testing   

• Automation testing helps deliver a product of good quality. 
• Automation testing saves a lot of time. 
• Automation testing is beneficial for testing the multilingual site.  
• Automation testing allows testing the software in multiple browsers. 
• With automation testing, there is no need for any human intervention.   
• With automation testing, the speed of automation gets increased.  
• Automation testing helps increase Test Coverage. 
• With automation testing, you can generate the report for Test Execution, you won’t be able to alter it, and subsequently, it is helpful for team lead/managers. 
• By utilizing an Automation tool, we can record and replay test cases. For Example, in case someone from your group is on leave, or you want your past workers to make the test cases executed, then this choice is useful. 

Automation Testing Vs Manual Testing: Major Differences 

Manual Testing is done physically by a QA analyst (Human) whereas Automation Testing is finished with the utilization of script, code and automation tools (PC) by a tester. 

The manual Testing process isn’t precise as a result of the possibility of human mistakes while the Automation process is solid since it is code and script based. 

Manual Testing is time taking while Automation Testing is exceptionally quick. 

Manual Testing is possible without programming knowledge while Automation Testing is not possible without programming knowledge.  

Manual Testing permits irregular Testing while Automation Testing doesn’t permit random Testing. 

Manual Testing vs Automation Testing 

Manual Testing Pros and Cons 

Pros of Manual Testing: 

• In manual testing, you can get fast and accurate visual feedback  
• Manual testing is less expensive as you don’t need to spend money on automation tools and processes. 

• Human judgment and instinct generally benefit the manual element. 
• While testing a little change, an automation test would require coding which could consume time. While you could test physically on the fly. 

Cons of Manual Testing: 

• In manual testing, the test method is less reliable because it is led by a human. Therefore, there are high chances of making mistakes & errors.     
• Manual testing can’t be recorded; thus, it is not possible to reuse the manual test.  

• In manual testing, certain tasks are difficult to perform manually, which might require additional time of the software testing phase. 

Automation Testing Pros and Cons 

Pros of Automated Testing: 

• Automation testing assists you with finding more bugs compared to a human tester.   
• As a large portion of the testing process is automated, you can have a speedy and efficient process.  

• The automation process can be recorded. This permits you to reuse and execute similar kinds of testing activities. 
• Automation testing is directed by utilizing software tools, so it works without tiring, and exhaustion not at all like people in manual testing do.  
• It can undoubtedly increase efficiency since it gives fast and exact testing results.  
• Automation testing supports different applications.  
• Testing inclusion can be expanded as a result of automation testing tools always remember to really take a look at even the smallest unit.  

Cons of Automated Testing: 

• Without the human element, it is difficult to get insight into visual aspects of UI like colors, font, sizes, contrast, or button sizes.   
• Automation testing tools are quite expensive, which may increase the cost of the testing project.   
• Automation testing tools are not yet foolproof. Every automation tool has its own limitations which reduce the scope of automation.   
• Debugging the test script is one more significant issue in automated testing. Test upkeep is expensive. 

Conclusion  

Testing is a very big domain, and manual testing is as important as automation testing. There are various types of testing where the automation tool can’t help us, and we need to choose manual testing.  

Both automation testing and manual testing have upsides and downsides, and picking between these two relies upon the project requirements, time, and in particular the budget. 

So, we can say that when we require skilled testers, we can choose manual testing, and when we need to automate the test case, we should choose automation.