Testing is a vast landscape that consists of several categories like black-box testing, white-box testing, system testing, system integration testing, performance testing, and load testing. Some of these testing categories perform better with Automation, while others get desirable results with Manual Testing.
There are some major differences between manual testing and automation testing. In manual testing, a human performs the tests step by step, without test scripts. In automated testing, tests are executed automatically via test automation frameworks, along with other tools and software.
What is Manual Testing?
In manual testing, the testers manually look out for defects in the software by following the test plan, executing the test cases, and generating the test reports without the help of any automation software testing tools.
It is a classical method of all testing types and helps find bugs in software systems. An experienced tester generally conducts it to accomplish the software testing process. Manual testing aims to catch bugs and feature issues before a software application goes live.
Why manual testing is needed?
Manual testing is needed for tasks that cannot be automated: usability testing, ad-hoc testing, and exploratory testing. For example, it’s hard for a program to detect whether some button is visible enough. Or it may be just too expensive to automate some test cases, like a tap on an iPad.
Why manual testing is not preferred?
Manual testing can be too expensive and time-consuming for large amounts of work. Another reason why it might be not preferred is the possibility of human errors. However, when used wisely (for UX testing, in the initial development stage, etc.), manual testing is irreplaceable.
Benefits of manual testing
Lower initial investment and start time
Suitable for applications with frequently changing GUI
Minimal or no coding for rapidly testing small changes
Opportunity to interact with applications as real users that enables testers to evaluate usability and user interface issues
Extensive human judgment and intuitive abilities help analyze elements better
Fast and accurate visual feedback
Allows the tester to perform more ad-hoc testing (random testing)
Improves the communication between the testing team, development team, and client interaction.
Downsides of manual testing
Requires a large number of human resources
Prone to errors
Limits test code reusability for different apps
Doesn't cover all aspects of testing
Requires time-consuming processes
Testing the application in different machines with different configurations is sequential which increases the cost of testing
Which types of tests can be done Manually?
Black box testing
White box testing
Gray box testing
Acceptance testing
Integration testing
Usability Test
What is Automation Testing?
In Automated Software Testing, testers write test scripts to automate test execution. It entirely relies on the pre-scripted test which runs automatically to compare actual results with the expected results. Testers use appropriate automation tools and frameworks to develop the test scripts and validate the software.
Automated Testing allows you to execute repetitive tasks and regression tests without the intervention of a manual tester. And this helps the tester to determine whether or not an application performs as expected.
Both have their strengths and weaknesses. Manual testing is slow and tedious. But its strength is that it better handles complex scenarios. Automated testing requires coding and test maintenance. But on the plus side, it is much faster and covers many more permutations.
Why Automated Testing?
Manual Testing has some limitations. Some teams simply don’t have the time or resources to manually test software. Automation can help with this. It can significantly reduce the time it takes to test products because it runs quickly and efficiently. It is the best way to increase the effectiveness, efficiency, and coverage of your software testing.
Many times we have to do repetitive testing and doing things repetitively can be boring. Using automation technology also means that testing can be done more frequently, improving overall functionality. It can also deliver more accurate and reliable results than manual testing alone. This validation gives the team a boost to continue developing.
Cost is the major constraint for any software development process. Maintenance costs can be a major issue for undetected defects. Automation comes into the picture to conquer all the above issues.
Benefits of Automation
Automating the testing process is significantly faster than manual testing as it consumes more time.
Eliminates human error when running the same operations every time.
We can test and see how the application reacts after executing the same operations repeatedly.
We can build a suite of tests that covers each and every feature of the application.
We can reuse the same test scripts for different versions of the application if needed.
If we have to run a set of tests repeatedly then automation is the right one for us.
Automated tests can be run at the same time on different machines with different OS platforms
Automation testing increases the test speed, and quality and improves the accuracy
Executing the same actions with different inputs is much easier and fast
Downsides of Automation
Initially, it costs more to automate
Cannot automate the visual references, like font color, font size, etc.
If the user interfaces change extensively, again script maintenance to be done.
Where We Should Not Think Of Automation
Areas of application that change frequently should not be considered for Automation. Test cases that are executed on an ad-hoc basis should not be considered for Automation. A newly designed test and one that is not executed manually should never be considered for Automation.
What tests cannot be automated?
There is a number of tasks that can only be performed manually: layout verification, installation testing, interaction with UI, etc. In short, exploratory tests, user interface tests, and ad-hoc tests cannot be automated.
Which types of tests can be automated?
Regression testing
Performance testing
Load testing
Highly repeatable test cases
Advanced GUI testing, API tests
Unit tests
Integration tests
System testing
Smoke tests
Can Automation Testing replace Manual Testing?
Automation testing will not replace manual testing. You need both manual and automation testing. Manual testing handles complex test cases, while automated testing handles simpler, more repetitive tests. Although automation testing exhibits a higher accuracy for algorithm-based test cases, still lacks cognitive abilities and cannot depict human-like intelligence when it comes to decision-making. And Automation Testing does not stand up to expectations when it comes to testing usability, functionality, aesthetics, UX, or behavior. This is where Manual Testing stands strong and beats Automation.
Final Thought
Regardless of whichever testing type your testing team focuses on, neither of the testing techniques can be entirely eliminated. It becomes inevitable for testers to rely on manual testing in the initial development phases, while automation is leveraged in areas of continuous tests, repeated processes, and tasks that need to be performed with time and resource limitations. And both Manual and Automation Testing have pros and cons, and choosing between these two depends on the project requirements, time, and most importantly budget.