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Difference Between Manual Testing and Automation Testing
Did you know that in 2020 38% of world IT companies say they prefer automation to manual processes? Quality assurance is no exception. Though the business world still compares the power of manual testing vs automation testing, no one argues that both benefit people: from software developers to end-users.
As 2021 is known for boosting the global automation industry up to $214bn of market revenue, the question of who calls the shots — manual or automation testing — is again in the air. Relying on its relevance, we at Savarian.tech decided to share our experience in the manual and automation testing in this helpful guide. Go on reading it to get it crystal clear!
What Is Manual Testing?
Despite some variability, when it comes to manual check-ups, the tester is responsible for the unit, system, user acceptance, and integration types of testing. The depth of the specialist’s dive depends on the project. Still, it goes around the search for any software inaccuracies that can interfere with the seamless product’s operation and user satisfaction.
As a rule, the test cases are the core manual testing method of inspection, while the expected deliverable of this task is the test report. The latter paves the way for the platform’s error-free performance without any obstacles in the User Experience (UX). It’s also necessary to note that no automation software testing tools are required to prepare such a report.
Manual Testing Pros and Cons
- It saves your money as no automation tools are involved in the process;
- It gives a fast assessment of the visual side of the product — check whether the User Interface (UI) is accurate and corresponds to the expected pattern;
- It’s the area in which the soft skills work as the decision-making base and do it for the benefit of the outcome;
- It works perfectly well in the situation when you need to make a small change quickly and with no code writing.
- Manual testing is often subjective and even biased due to the human engagement in the task execution;
- There’s no way to record the very process, so you can’t reuse or repurpose the manual test findings in the future tests;
- The manual nature of this testing method presupposes the considerable time spendings with possible delays and extra work to be done in the software testing phase.
Advantages of Manual Testing
Now it’s time to discuss the beneficial side of manual testing in granular detail. Based on our expertise, Savarian.tech would like to draw your attention to the following four cons of the first contender in our manual vs automation testing battle:
1.Immediate transfer to the testing itself
One of the significant advantages of manual testing is the capability to plunge into the process of testing right at once. You don’t need any other to-do things like in the case of automated testing when the scripts writing and preparing the environment in which they’ll be running are the must-haves. Here, the tester can uninterruptedly start with the bugs check.
2.No need for programming languages and test automation tools
The naked truth is that not all projects are so complicated to require functionality automation. For instance, if you’re creating a simple website or a mobile app with a limited number of functions, ask yourself: “Do I really automated testing?” In other words, manual testing is more suitable in these kinds of situations as it saves both time and budget.
3.Quick adaptation to the app’s UI updates
If you seek quick adjustment to changes within the app, manual testing is the right fit for you. That’s especially true when you trace the slightest UI nuances and software’s reaction to the updates. Imagine that you want to replace a particular form on the site with the new one and deploy it as a minor release. Here’s when manual testing comes in handy.
4.Errors and shortcomings detection through expertise
It’s usually hard to detect all the software inaccuracies and flaws when relying heavily on automation. Human expertise can’t be qualitatively replaced in all the cases. That’s why it’s better to use manual testing when you need to learn and find the new possible scenarios of the app’s usage. It also helps find weak points vulnerable to a breakdown or a hacking attack.
Disadvantages of Manual Testing
The list of its weaknesses isn’t so long, so we’ll leave them to you there as background material. Manual testing doesn’t perform accurately in 100% of cases as to err is human. Also, you can’t be sure that no app regression will come in the future as tests need regularity. So, think at least about the minimum further support of the app after it goes live.
What else? Manual testing also takes time. Be ready to wait for testers to accomplish their tasks and developers to implement the necessary changes into the software product. Finally, you’ve got no record of all these works done for coming back to them whenever you want for different purposes.
What Is Automation Testing?
The essence of automated testing lies in transferring repetitive manual tasks to machines. The latter can outperform humans in terms of processed data volume and realization speed. However, human involvement is required to create initial testing scripts. So, we can’t say that automation testing needs no human contribution.
Moreover, thinking of the final stage of the testing process, the human expert will compare the ultimate test results with the expected ones. Suppose the scripts need some upgrades to function accurately. Again, it’s a human specialist who retrains the algorithms by rewriting the scripts or updating them.
Nevertheless, many businesses favor automation testing as an excellent method of avoiding compilation errors. It also ensures continuous integration and delivery of the software product. Plus, automated testing is indispensable in its capacity volume, quickness of testing processes, and economy of human talents.
Automation Testing Pros and Cons
- It possesses a higher degree of accuracy in finding bugs within the software;
- It provides efficiency as you reduce time and human staff resources on the execution of the routine, repetitive tasks;
- It gives you transparency as the whole testing process is ready for reuse in the same testing operations;
- It shows stable performance as machines can’t lessen the accuracy of testing because of fatigue and lack of concentration;
- It’ll increase your productivity levels due to the fast and exact testing results;
- It can be integrated with and supported by different applications;
- It allows you to scale the testing coverage over time when the machines get used to the particular scripts.
- Automation testing isn’t cost-efficient when you need to assess UI elements (colors, fonts, button sizes, etc.) as all these things undergo frequent changes at the development stage, and the resort to automation makes them overpriced;
- Running automated testing is quite expensive on a small scale;
- Despite the high accuracy of the result, automation testing isn’t perfect too. It shows its limitations in the case of the excessive scope of automation;
- Debugging the test script is the key stumbling block in automated testing, which also calls for the initial human involvement;
- Test maintenance is also costly. Yet, it’s a crucial stage in software development that one can’t avoid with no harm to the product’s performance.
Advantages of Automation Testing
Though the benefits of automated testing seem to be more numerous than those of manual testing, let’s elaborate on the five major pros of automation:
1.Saves money and time
Yes, automated testing is expensive. However, this method also saves you money and time that you could lose with long and tiring manual testing. Regression and back-end testing are the perfect examples here: you resort to machines for that and delegate the requirements analysis and development to the human team.
2.Allows expanding testing coverage
Some limits exist, of course. In any case, automation testing gives you a splendid opportunity to raise the depth and scope of tests. They can cover critical points (like in the case of manual testing) as well as the entire package of software checks.
3.Increases accuracy and quality
If the script is written accurately, machines will do their tasks without any quality issues. Therefore, one can hardly compare the accuracy of automation testing with its manual brother. Machines will carefully check every build of the app or platform.
4.Handles the tasks that are impossible for manual check
There are some tasks that you can’t delegate to humans, such as load testing. It doesn’t matter what the size of the manual testing department is. It simply won’t be able to emulate the necessary load on the system for checking its robustness. Such kinds of tests are suitable for automation only.
5.Reduces the redundant developers’ efforts
Automated testing opens up a wide range of opportunities for both testers and developers. Namely, by implementing the automation tests into the CI/CD processes, an engineer can reveal the appearing errors before passing the artifacts into testing. It positively affects the productivity of development – and the atmosphere within the team!
Disadvantages of Automation Testing
In most cases, the choice of automated testing may be an ineffective strategy when you cope with the UI assessment, no time/human resources for writing scripts, and the restrained budget for test running and maintenance. Besides, it’s not reasonable to refer to automation if you need to implement minor changes into the app and release them quickly.
When Should I Use Manual Testing Rather Than Automated Testing?
The difference between manual testing and automation testing is best tangible when considering usage scenarios. Manual testing is great for UX (measuring convenience of the product usage), ad-hoc (no strict planning of testing), and exploratory (poor written documentation) checks. They call for soft skills that can hardly be turned into scripts.
Is It Possible to Replace Manual Testing With Automation Testing?
The manual vs automation borderline is sometimes vague, but it’s erroneous to consider that automated testing can be the best and only approach for one project. The complete replacement of manual testing with automation results in the subjective evaluation. UX assessment, situation simulation, and functional tasks are impossible without humans.
Key Difference Between Manual Testing & Automation Testing
Savarian.tech has made this comparison table. With it, you can quickly grasp the difference between manual and automation testing. Have a look at it!
| Criteria to compare | Manual testing | Automation Testing |
|---|---|---|
| Agent | QA Specialist | Computer + code & script |
| Degree of accuracy | Prone to errors | Highly reliable |
| Speed of execution | Time-consuming | Fast & simultaneous |
| Support base | — | Programming languages |
| Costs | Comparatively low | Often high |
| Extent of transparency | Mostly absent | Available process recording |
| Usage | UX, Adhoc, Exploratory Testing + minor changes | Regression, Load, and Performance Testing + repetitive tasks |
Making the choice
As you see, the manual and automation testing have their strengths and limitations. That’s why the smart approach is to combine the two and benefit from each — use manual testing and automation testing for the different use cases. Savarian.tech follows this golden mean and conducts the preliminary analysis of the product to get it right.
Contact Savarian.tech to get a recommendation on the best testing type for your business needs. We’ll get it done smoothly and qualitatively. We’ll analyze the complexity of your product, goals, target audience, and other factors to choose what works the best for you.
Come to us, and we’ll provide you with the entire testing cycle of services with gusto!
