In a constantly evolving software development landscape, with an increasing rise of automation tools, the importance of manual testing remains in any quality assurance (QA) process. Manual testing allows testers to physically simulate users' experiences with the software and verify that the software is functional, usable, and has no major defects. In this blog, we will explore what manual testing is, why it is important, the different types, and steps to complete manual testing correctly along the way, getting inspiration from industry experiences such as what Global App Testing presented. 

What is Manual Testing?

Manual testing is a software testing process where a QA engineer manually performs test cases, without utilizing automated tools, automation scripts, or any automated means by which to test the application. In manual testing, a person uses the application as the user would and tests the different interfaces of the application, provides input and validation, performs actions or workflows, and the tester checks to see if the software functions as expected. This hands-on approach permits testers to locate visual defects, functional errors,/usability issues, and other errors that the application has that automation or automated tests may not detect. In some industry insights, manual testing accounts for at least 80% testing effort in many organizations, showing the importance of manual testing, as well as the ongoing survival of manual testing even when automation is advancing.

Why is Manual Testing Crucial?

Manual testing, while never going to be more efficient than automation for repetitive artifacts, has valuable competencies that you cannot replicate with automation. 

• Human Intuition: Testers can apply their UX and usability expertise to areas that require human intuition, i.e., we can make judgments about whether a button being placed somewhere feels natural based on the perspective of a human tester. 

• Exploratory Testing: Manual testing allows testers to dynamically explore the application to uncover unforeseen issues that weren't recorded in predefined test cases. 

• Cost Efficient on Smaller Projects: For simple or short-term projects, a manual approach if typically cheaper than investment in creating automation capability. 

• Good for the Early Stages of Testing: The flexibility inherent in the manual process for software in its infancy, as it is still evolving with developers through continually changing specifications, does not require updating the automation script.

Types of Manual Testing

Manual Testing involves several methods for assessing different levels of software quality:

• Black Box Testing: Testers verify the functionality of an application without having any knowledge of the internal code. The testers provide input and then verify output against the expected results. The testers simulate how an end-user would typically use the application.

• White Box Testing: Testers have access to the internal code and can check code paths and the accuracy of the design based on its underlying structure and logic. This type of testing is commonly used for unit testing or integration testing.

• Grey Box Testing: This is a combination of black box testing and white box testing. Testers have a partial understanding of the internal structure of an application and test based on both functionality and coding. Grey box testing tends to work well for system integration testing.

• Usability Testing: Typically covers how easy an application is to use, the interface design of an application, and how easy an application is to use in its entirety based upon end-user expectations.

• GUI Testing: This focuses on verification of the graphical user interface, checking that elements such as menus, buttons, and layouts interactively function and satisfy design specifications.

• Regression Testing: This verification determines if any new changes or bug fixes have negatively affected any existing functionality.

• Exploratory Testing: Exploratory testing is arguably the least formal of the types of testing. Testers engage with the application under test without a formal set of test cases to follow. Engaging with the application is done with the aim to be creative as possible, this creative aspect is what exploratory testing is all about.

• Compatibility Testing: Verifies that software performs the same and correctly across technically different devices, browsers, and operating systems.

• Localization Testing: Mostly the language, culture, and or regional aspects ensure that we can validate the application, "works" correctly in each of the regions.

Step-by-Step Guide to Manual Testing

To do manual testing successfully, QA engineers use a process that enables them to investigate everything and provide correct defect reports. The following is a step-by-step process:

1. Requirement Analysis

Read the software requirements specification (SRS) and project specification documents to understand fully the application for its intended purpose, features, and expected behavior. Communicate with stakeholders to eliminate any questions or ambiguity. 

2. Test Plan Development

Prepare a test plan that establishes boundaries along with the objectives, resources, schedule, and environment for testing. This should provide guidance as a plan for your testing. 

3. Test Case Development

Develop test cases that also demonstrate all of the requirements, including positive, negative, and edge cases. Every detailed case should outline the inputs, steps for execution, and expected outcome.

4. Test Environment Setup

Prepare a representative testing environment with the correct hardware, software, and network configurations so that it is as close as possible to what you would see in the real world.

5. Test Execution

You will manually execute the test cases, act as an end user interacting with the application. You will srool through screen, input data, take actions and features according to the test scripts.

6. Defect Reporting

You will report any defects or anomalies along with the complete steps to reproduce, what you expected to see, what you saw, severity, etc., for each. You could use a bug tracking tool to document your defect, including Jira or Bugzilla.

7. Regression Testing

You would also need to regression test an area where the developers have changed and corrected a defect. Confirm that the changes were effective and the fix did not introduce a new issue in the same area.

8. Test Closure

You will finally prepare a test report documenting what was done during the testing period, what the results of the tests were, and what is still outstanding. You can officially close the testing process once you have met all of the quality criteria.

Best Practices for Successful Manual Testing

To ensure that manual testing works for you, adopt the following best practices:

• Prioritize Test Cases: It may not be possible to test all aspects of a system. Focus on areas of high risk and critical functionality, and the highest impact test cases first, to make the most of your time.

• Use Real Devices: Test on real devices and browsers to obtain accurate compatibility and performance results. Services like BrowserStack can give you access to a large number of devices that are all real devices.

• Be Thorough with Documentation: Keep detailed documentation of test cases, execution results, and defects so that developers can easily understand and act upon issues.

• Simulate Real Conditions: Be sure to test under conditions that closely resemble actual usage conditions. This includes varying device and network speeds, and performing user-like actions. 

• Combine with Automation: Use manual testing for exploratory, usability, and user interface testing and automation where possible, for repeatable testing, to achieve a well-balanced quality assurance (QA) approach.

Manual Testing Challenges

Despite the advantages, manual testing does include challenges and limitations:  

• Slow: Manual testing can sometimes be stringent and leave less time for exploratory testing. Completing all test cases manually, first time, can be time-consuming and sometimes labor-intensive, especially for larger systems. 

• Human Error: By its nature, manual testing is susceptible to oversight, especially in cases of monotony and repetition.

• Scalability: As a project grows, manual testing may require many more testers, longer testing cycles, and ultimately higher costs.

Conclusion

Manual testing is still an important part of software quality assurance, which will help to inform automated testing. It looks at the software from a human perspective. Manual testing emphasizes user experience, exploratory testing, and early validation. It ensures the software will be reliable and intuitive once used in the real world. Following some of the steps and best practices will allow the QA team to uncover numerous significant defects and provide high-quality software for the end user. Organizations looking to balance efficiency with accuracy should also look at balancing manual testing with automated testing, just as quality assurance providers do.

Do you want to improve your software quality? Begin to incorporate manual testing into your quality assurance process today and give your application the best chance at delivering a user experience like no other!