The difference between automation and manual testing is becoming a hot topic in the programming world. Both are important but the difference has always been confusing. Here we will discuss the pros and cons of both types of testing so that programmers can understand the basics.
What is Manual Testing?
Manual testing or user-driven software testing is what many programmers would call "testing by hand." In other words, humans manually execute test cases on software products for various reasons such as detecting security threats, performance bottlenecks, etc.
What is Automation Testing?
Automated or software-driven testing is where the computers do what their names say: automate tests that are usually performed by manual testing. This helps the programmer streamline repetitive tasks and focus on more complex ones like debugging. It helps to test use cases that involve repetition of work like testing the Login page for multiple users.
Which method of testing is more beneficial?
So, does it benefit a programmer to use automated or manual tests? The short answer is that there can be a balance between both methods, but test automation will always be paramount in developing robust software.
Simple Example of Automation let's say you want to test an app that calculates percentages. You can start off manually by entering 10 into an input box, then 15, and subtracting the two values with a calculator. Then enter those values into the app's input box and press the calculate button. When you repeat this process for a hundred different numbers, you can see how it becomes tedious.
Now let us consider that we were to use a software testing tool that could automatically execute this test case. If you programmed the tool properly, it would immediately test each number and automatically create a report with all of your findings. This saves both time and effort while providing reliable results.
Just like automation testing helps to test larger or more complex use cases and save time, manual testing helps in testing the most important aspect without which your product is nothing - User Experience.
If your system is not friendly for users both in terms of usability and accessibility, there is very less chance of success.
Difference between Manual and Automation Testing
The main difference between manual and automated testing is that the latter is repetitive. In other words, when you created an automated test, it would automatically follow a series of steps that another human would otherwise have to perform manually.
Automation can also help a programmer with interactive and complex tasks. In the previous example, someone else would have to manually enter each number into the calculation app, so you would have to watch them perform the task. You could easily follow that testing process with automation and save yourself some time.
A commonly used explanation of automation is that it automates steps of many manual testing steps. For example, you could use a tool like Selenium as an automated testing tool that can automate the interaction of web browsers.
Manual testers help in checking the User Experience of the system. You get to know how the user will feel while using the system hence you can solve these issues and achieve high user satisfaction for your product.
This is all for this article, I hope you enjoyed it and learned something new. This was just an introduction to these testing methods, will upload a detailed article for each individual method in the future.