The IT industry has evolved rapidly in the past few years, with new inventions and innovations grabbing the headlines. One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the chronology of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). From requirement gathering to deployment, every step should be given equal importance. Meanwhile, one cannot ignore the significance of the testing phase, as it ensures that the product delivered to the client is without any errors or bugs. The software quality assurance team is hired by each software company to find any faults in the product and ensure smooth delivery to the client.
Software Testing can be divided into two major categories: Manual and Automation testing. Both techniques can help testers achieve their goals and are leveraged by the quality assurers in the production environment. This blog will differentiate both types of testing and explain the scenarios in which manual or automation testing should be given preference.
What Is Manual Testing?
It is the software testing process in which softwares are tested manually without any intervention from the automated tools. Here, test cases are created by humans and are executed as per the client’s perspective to ensure that the software is performing according to the requirements. The manual testing phase primarily depends on the tester’s skills and ability to create relevant test cases and find any defects in the product.
Types Of Manual Testing
Following are some of the techniques opted for by manual testers:
1) Black Box Testing
In this method, the software quality assurer only tests the external functionalities of the system without access to the source code.
2) White Box Testing
Also known as structural testing, White Box Testing involves rigorous testing of the source code and internal structure of the product.
3) Grey Box Testing
Here, a combination of black-and-white box testing approaches is applied to test the system.
4) Integration Testing
This technique is implemented to test the system after different application modules are integrated.
Pros Of Manual Testing
- Lower initial investment cost
- Preferred for applications with constantly changing UI
- No coding skills required
- The human cognitive ability to determine defects becomes prevalent
- Rapid feedback
Cons Of Manual Testing
- Prone to human errors
- A large number of workforce required
- A time-consuming process
- Fails to cover all testing methodologies
What Is Automation Testing?
In this testing technique, automated tools are used to create and execute test cases as compared to manually testing each module. Automation Testing enhances speed and efficiency in rigorously testing the system, ensuring that the product delivered to the client is error-free. Some of the most common tools leveraged for automation testing are Selenium, Appium, Testsigma, Robotium, etc.
Types Of Automation Testing
1) Functional Testing
This approach involves testing the system’s overall functionality with minimal or no awareness of the underlying structure.
2) Non-Functional Testing
Here, various metrics, like reliability, speed, efficiency, security, etc., are thoroughly evaluated to test the system after the functional testing has been performed in the initial stage.
3) Regression Testing
To ensure that the product works normally according to the client’s requirements after some changes have been made, Regression Testing involves executing functional and non-functional testing in several iterations.
Pros Of Automation Testing
- Yields result quickly and efficiently
- Cost-effective
- Can detect errors that a human is unable to trace
- Greater transparency
Cons Of Automation Testing
- Automated tools are expensive
- Time-intensive technique
- Unable to test specific visual aspects like font size, color composure, etc.
Conclusion
The testing phase is one of the crucial parts of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Each software company requires a dedicated software quality assurance team to ensure that the product delivered to the client is error-free and performs according to the requirements. This blog shed light on two common testing methodologies, named Manual and Automation Testing, providing a comprehensive comparison of both techniques. The pros and cons of both methods were discussed in detail to facilitate the readers.
