Testing is an essential part of a product development process. The primary purpose of testing is to identify and prevent various bugs and errors and ensure the ultimate sophistication of a product. However, testing also helps to experience the product through a customer's eyes and compare the developers' expectations to the actual results, which is essential to improving overall quality. There are two main directions to take for testers: Manual Testing and Test Automatisation. In this blog, we are going to compare these two ways and discuss each's benefits.
Manual testing is a more complicated process in which QA analytics are performed step by step. A tester individually goes through every detail to validate the key features of the software application. So, when testing manually, tests are executed one by one and following this, a summary error report is drawn by a QA tester.
Test Automatisation refers to utilizing specific tools and scripts to automate the testing process. A test script is a set of instructions directed towards target platforms for the purposes of validating a particular feature or expected outcome. Automation testing improves test coverage and is undeniably more efficient as it requires much less time and effort than manual testing.
The most significant advantage of Manual Testing is definitely focused attention. This is helpful for dealing with some more complex and nuanced test scenarios. Manual testing is also more reliable and prevents false errors, often inconvenient for DevOps teams. Apart from this, some testing can only be performed manually, for example, exploratory testing. Moreover, Manual Testing gives a whole picture by breaking down the problem and understanding its emotional and conceptual sides – this helps to get in the shoes of a customer, evoke empathy and, as a result, deliver a brilliant service.
The most significant advantage of automated testing is time efficiency. Automated testing reduces the amount of repetitive manual tasks. Another advantage is that, since automated testing doesn't require any human intervention, you can perform it at any time, for example, at night, which will increase productivity to a great extent. Moreover, automated testing offers you the pleasure of instant feedback – as tests are executed fast, developers are getting reports quickly, meaning they can react to any bugs or inconveniences instantly. The best part is that you get to work efficiently without having to compromise the overall quality and performance of a product.
To sum up, both testing methods offer specific perks for QA testers. Manual testing means carefully attending to the details of a product and being able to empathize with the customer by receiving the end-user experience. At the same time, test Automatisation offers to save a tremendous amount of time and effort while still delivering high-quality performance. The choice is yours; however, if you don't wish to miss out on modern revolutionary technology, you should definitely give automated testing a try.