Automation Testing vs Manual Testing : Comparative Guide

Consumers require their apps to work without any hassle each time. If an app has performance issues or bugs and has glitches, it is likely to lose its users to poor quality. Thus, arises the importance of testing the software so that project teams fully test, validate, and verify the developed software, which provides high-quality user experiences.

In the recent past, manual and automated testing have been effectively used together to ensure quality products for customers.

This blog talks about the basics of manual and automated testing, discussing the differences between the two, along with the best scenarios to apply each process.

What is manual testing?

Manual testing is executing test cases manually with minimal reliance on automation tools. Test cases are performed from the point of view of an end user, and it ensures that the software works as defined in the requirement document.

This is a traditional testing approach that can help identify all kinds of visible as well as hidden defects in the software. The bugs and problems associated with the features are captured through manually designed documents, largely dependent on the skills, experience, and knowledge of the tester.

Main categories of manual testing

There are various techniques and methodologies used in manual testing by the testers. These are as follows:

Black Box testing: This approach focuses on functionality and response by the software when given specific input values. It also includes techniques such as Equivalence Partitioning, Boundary Value Analysis, Decision Table, and State Transition Testing.

White box testing: This technique involves understanding the structure and code of the application. Developers do a lot of white box testing so that code is accurate before sending it to test engineers. Techniques include branch testing, control flow testing, decision coverage, data flow testing, path testing, and statement coverage.

Gray box testing: This approach combines white box and black box testing, identifies bugs and defects caused by structural issues or improper usage of the application.

Acceptance testing: This ensures the software meets specified requirements, evaluates its compliance with business goals, and verifies that it meets end-user needs.

Integration testing: This checks out how efficiently various modules of the application interact and work together.

Working of manual testing

Manual testing is carried out with careful planning and execution by QA engineers and analysts. It starts with the review of all software-related documents to find areas that need testing. Testers analyze these documents to ensure all customer requirements are addressed. According to the requirement document, test cases are developed and executed manually using both black box and white box methodologies.

The results of every test are well-documented. In the event that a test case does not pass, the testers move out of scope for the specific scenarios defined and research into the reasons behind the failure of the case occurs. An overall report detailing all bugs or defects found as well as their status in regard to reruns that were run on skipped tests or failed ones is prepared and provided to the development team to be addressed; then the test team receives it for further verification.

Benefits of Manual Testing

1. Involves low initial investment and faster setup time

2. Suits applications with dynamic and frequently changing GUIs

3. Involves little or no coding and thus enables the testing of minor changes quickly

4. Enables testers to interact with applications as real users, thereby helping in usability and interface design assessment

5. Leverages human judgment and intuition for deeper insight into the application's functionality

6. Quick and accurate visual feedback.

Disadvantages of Manual Testing

1. Requires considerable human resources

2. Prone to human errors at the time of execution

3. Cannot reuse test cases on any other applications.

4. Does not provide coverage of every aspect of software testing

5. Includes processes that could be time-consuming

What is Automation Testing?

Software Testing technique that automates the processes of testing suites using specialized automatic tools. Specialized automated test data entry and comparison of results with expected actual outcomes, preparing minute test reports.

Test automation has been able to repeat the test suite, make a record for test suites and replay them many times.

Categories of Automation Testing

QA departments can combine different types of automation testing to achieve the best results. Major types of automation testing are as follows:

Functional Testing

This is the testing of elements to verify their functionality as per the defined requirements, without much knowledge about the design or structure of the application.

Non-Functional Testing

It is done after functional testing and checks reliability, performance, usability, etcetera, quality attributes of the product.

Keyword-Driven Testing

In this approach, keywords from data files are mapped to some predetermined set of actions to be automatically carried out by the system. It is also easy to maintain and can be used with any automation tool since it does not involve much programming.

Data-Driven Testing

This approach consists of inputting numerous batches of external data-which could be spread in sheets or tables-in a single batch for checking consistency, for higher reusability of the codes and for time savings.

Regression Testing

Regression testing is one of the repeat executions of functional and non-functional tests to verify that code changes did not adversely affect the application's functionality, performance, or its response. Automated regression testing has become crucial for agile software development lifecycles since it addresses the deficiency of manually carried out regression testing like more resource-intensive, limited test coverable, duplication, and higher susceptibility to human errors.

Manual vs. Automation Testing

Definition

1. Automated Testing: Is based on the usage of automated testing tools.

2. Manual Testing: This type of testing is carried out by a human test engineer with no assistance of any automation tools.

Exploratory Testing

1. Automated Testing: Not helpful in exploratory testing

2. Manual Testing: Allows exploratory testing

Initial Investment

1. Automated Testing: Has high initial investments but offers higher returns on investment in the long term.

2. Manual Testing: Lower initial costs but offers a lower ROI compared to automated testing.

UI Changes

1. Automated Testing: Requires script modifications for minor user interface changes.

2. Manual Testing: Handles minor changes (e.g., button IDs or classes) without hindering execution.

Cost-Effectiveness

1. Automated Testing: Inefficient for low-volume regression tests.

2. Manual Testing: Not cost-effective for high-volume regression testing.

Test Report Visibility

1. Automated Testing: Allows the real time execution results of test to be made available to the stakeholders through the automation systems.

2. Manual Testing: It depends on the spreadsheet of Excel or Word for documentation of test report, which are not so easy to access.

Parallel Execution

1. Automated Testing: Offers parallel testing capability across various platforms that reduce the time of execution

2. Manual Testing: It requires human resources in multiples for parallel execution, which means cost increase.

Build Verification Testing (BVT)

1. Automated Testing: Highly fits into BVT, making the process much easier.

2. Manual Testing: It is difficult and time-consuming to perform BVT manually.

DevOps Integration

1. Automated Testing: Is a part of DevOps, which supports both build verification as well as continuous testing.

2. Manual Testing: Goes against the principles of DevOps being automated, and hence its effectiveness is low.

Manual Testing or Automated Testing? Which One to Use?

Automation versus manual testing is a popular debate in the software testing field. Deciding on which method best fits depends entirely on understanding the scope, audience, and requirements of the software in question. Now, let us get into more details on how these two methods differ and their best-fit scenarios.

Should You Opt for Automated Testing Rather Than Manual Testing?

Greater Productivity

Testing tools automate test execution processes that allow you to run tests many times with little stress. Automatic testing has a good deal of a different advantage where a high amount of tests in the system would be executed quickly unlike manual where continuous time effort with redundant work needed, increasing productivity enhances overall efficiency throughout the process for the delivery software. With the rapid growth of smart devices and applications, automation has gained prominence for improving application quality, whereas web and manual mobile app testing have shown limitations in efficiency across various industries.

Cost-Effective

Though the initial investment is low for manual testing, human resources and efforts are huge for every process. Automation testing requires one-time test creation, which can be reused with no further costs on test execution, unlike manual testing that has to be executed repetitively and thus has recurring costs every time.

More Accuracy in Test Cases

Manual testing is very prone to error, especially with complex use cases. Automation testing doesn't have errors because it works on algorithms every time and will give the exact result.

Test Suite Reusability

Automation testing is repetitive. This makes the developers assess application behavior more efficiently. Configurations can be easily set up, and test cases can be reused in multiple scenarios, which helps increase overall productivity.

Scalability

Manual testing depends on human resources and is therefore difficult to scale. Automation testing is highly scalable as it requires only the number of additional test executors within the framework irrespective of the size of the project.

Minimized Manual Tasks

Automated testing reduces the number of repetitive manual tasks and uses specialized tools to execute tests. Although there is a need for manual intervention to create the baseline test scripts, the overall effort is minimized.

Opportunity to Accommodate Advanced Features

Automation facilitates advanced testing, such as real-user simulations, face ID, fingerprint testing, location mocking, network virtualization, and image or voice-related testing, making it a powerful choice for modern applications.

Increased Test Coverage

Manual testing limits the number of tests due to time and resource constraints. Automation enables testers to spend more time creating new tests and adding them to the suite, increasing test coverage and ensuring comprehensive testing of features.

Scenarios Where Manual Testing is More Suitable

Though automation dominates the landscape of software testing, manual testing remains crucial for some scenarios:

Initial Development Stage

At the early development stage, manual testing is more suitable for the identification of bottlenecks or visual errors in advance. The phase often has instability, making it not worthwhile to invest much in automation at this stage.

During Ad-Hoc Testing

Ad-hoc testing, which is done without preparation or test cases, is best done manually by QA specialists who can spontaneously identify system flaws.

Testing Visual Aspects of the UI

Manual testing is very effective in checking the design of the user interface and ensuring that visual elements are in line with the intended layout. It minimizes the risk of false negatives, which can burden DevOps teams with unnecessary validations.

More Scenarios

1. UX and exploratory testing

2. Complex test scenarios

3. Tests validated less frequently

Conclusion

Neither Manual nor Automated testing can be fully replaced. Both need to be used distinctly for different stages and needs of the development process. Manual is necessary in early development and for complex test scenarios, automation is ideal for repetitive tasks, continuous testing, and resource-limited environments. A proper balance between both is key to an all-encompassing and effective testing strategy.