2023 test post, manual testing vs automated testing, how should "I" choose...

Contents: Guide

foreword

In the software testing industry, the most debated topic is "better manual testing or automated testing". Even though automation testing is the most talked about buzzword and is slowly dominating the testing world, the importance of manual testing cannot be ignored.

Deeper differences between manual and automated testing

Time costs

In a project with a lot of content and a test phase that runs for a long time, automated testing is ideal because

It reduces the amount of resources required.
Multiple types of similar test case scenarios can be executed simultaneously using a single script.
For large projects, the estimated budget is sufficient to cover the setup and maintenance of the automated testing tool.
However, in small projects where the testing phase runs for only a few weeks, manual testing is preferable because

Resources don't have enough time to get trained on the tool and start testing.
Maintenance and installation are time-consuming and expensive.
There is less need to execute multiple test cases of a similar nature concurrently.

Acceptance Test

The use of automated testing to test interactivity in an application's user interface has been widely appreciated. However, this should not be a help, but rather an improvement in your UI testing capabilities.

Automated testing tools in the UI work by checking the position, alignment, and distance of elements from their containers. A very small bug in the test script will cause false positives for such an alignment.

The intuition of a manual tester is very important during user acceptance testing. An experienced tester can observe any object or element that appears to be misaligned or out of line.

test accuracy

For longer duration testing phases, there is a high chance of undetected bugs when testing is performed manually. Every time a small bug is fixed, the entire application needs to be tested to make sure that no other bugs occur.

The process is boring, tiring, and monotonous, and testers tend to miss small but critical bugs while doing repetitive tests.

Automated testing involves the execution of scripts that repeatedly test the application over and over again. Since machines don't have feelings, test accuracy is even more of an advantage if the script is written correctly, when the test is executed time and time again.

Regression Testing

Regression testing is a phase that involves constant code changes and testing how the application responds to frequent changes.

When performing regression testing manually:
There is a high chance of error because the human eye often misses small changes when looking at the same thing repeatedly.
For large applications, a large number of testers are required to perform these repetitive tasks.

When using automated testing:
Regression testing tools speed up the process by repeatedly executing test cases.
Multiple test case scenarios can be executed concurrently.
Time is saved by parallel execution along with other test cases.

project nature

In addition to the complexity of the application and the duration of the project, the nature of the application determines which tests are better at testing it.

For a banking application, many scenarios need to be tested.
Authentication during user login.
Security protocols during bank operations.
Security testing for fraudulent activity during transactions.

For such cases, tests can complete faster when executing well-written scripts. Since most of the tests involve the same scenario but with different operations or different data. Therefore, manual testing is better.

For a small web application or a page for a small business, the appearance and user experience of the application is critical. In this case, human intuition needs to be tested.

A tester should think from the perspective of the end user and test the application to find bugs or flaws that might hinder the user experience. Since no automated testing tool has been found that can replace human instinct, manual testing is preferable for this situation.

Automated programs can quickly execute multiple test cases. Organizations are relying more on automated testing, while manual testing is often considered a waste of effort and time.

However, it is the basis of testing, and to write automated test scripts, experienced manual testers are required. Although for load testing or regression testing automated testing is preferable, for user acceptance testing or exploratory testing manual testing will still prevail.

The following is the most complete software test engineer learning knowledge architecture system diagram in 2023 that I compiled