Manual testing
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Manual testing is the oldest and most rigorous type of software testing. Manual testing requires a tester to perform manual test operations on the test software without the help of Test automation. Manual testing is a laborious activity that requires the tester to possess certain set of qualities as listed below:
1. Patient
2. Observant
3. Speculative
4. Creative
5. Innovative
6. Open-minded
7. Resourceful
8. Unopnionated
9. Skillful
As a tester, it is always advisable to use manual white box testing and black-box testing techniques on the test software. Manual testing helps discover and record any software bugs/descrepencies related to the functionality of the product.
Manual testing can be replaced by Test automation. You can record and playback manual steps and write automated Test script(s) using Test automation tools. Although, Test automation tools will only help execute test scripts written primarily for executing a particular specification and functionality. Test automation tools lack the ability of decision-making and recording any unscripted discrepencies during program execution. It is recommended that you should perform manual testing of the entire product at least a couple of times before actually deciding to automate the more mundane activities of the product.
Manual testing helps discover defects related to the Usability testing and GUI testing area. While performing manual tests the software application can be validated whether it meets the various standards defined for effective and efficient usage and accessibility. For example, the standard location of the OK button on a screen is on the left and of CANCEL button on right. During manual testing you discover that on some screen, it is not. This is a new defect related to the usability of the screen. In addition, there could be many cases where the GUI is not displayed correctly and the basic functionality of the program is alright. Such bugs are not detectable using Test automation tools.
Repetitive manual testing can be difficult to perform on large software applications or applications having very large dataset coverage. This drawback is compensated by using manual black box testing techniques including equivalence partitioning and boundary value analysis. Using which, the vast dataset specifications can be divided and converted into more manageable and achieveable set of Test Suites.
A manual tester should perform the following steps for manual testing:
1. Understand the functionality of program.
2. Prepare a test environment.
3. Execute test case(s) manually.
4. Verify the actual result.
5. Record the result as Pass or Fail.
6. Make a summary report of the Pass and Fail test cases.
7. Publish the report.
8. Record any new defects uncovered during the test case execution.
There is no complete substitute for manual testing. Manual testing is crucial for testing software applications more thoroughly. Test automation has become a necessity mainly due to shorter deadlines for performing test activities, such as Regression testing, Performance testing, and Load testing.
[edit] See also
--Meetu Singh 08:44, 21 March 2007 (UTC)
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