Manual Testing

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Manual Testing in SDLC

In this article, I am going to discuss Manual Testing in SDLC. Please read our previous article where we discussed SDLC – V Model. At the end of this article, you will understand the following important pointers which are related to Manual Testing in SDLC.

1. What is Manual Testing in SDLC?
2. Manual Testing Components
3. Why do we need Manual Testing?
4. Types of Manual Testing
5. How to Perform Manual Testing?
6. What are the Roles and Responsibilities of a Manual Tester?
7. What are the Advantages of Manual Testing?
8. What are the Disadvantages of Manual Testing?
9. Manual Testing Tools

What is Manual Testing in SDLC?

Software engineering terms for the process of manually interacting with, observing, and analyzing software applications or systems in order to verify and validate them. It entails the execution of test cases, the detection of flaws, and confirming that the software satisfies the requirements and operates as intended.

A tester engages in a variety of tasks during manual testing, such as interacting with the user interface, providing various inputs, and contrasting the outcomes with what was anticipated. Finding bugs, flaws, or any deviations from the intended behavior of the software is the main goal.

Manual Testing Components

Here are a few crucial manual testing components:

1. Test Case Design: Test cases are made in accordance with the requirements and design guidelines for the software. These test cases specify the actions to be taken and the results that should be anticipated.
2. Manual Test Execution: Manual test execution is done by testers who adhere to detailed instructions. They note the outcomes and contrast them with the anticipated outcomes.
3. Defect Reporting: Any errors or flaws discovered during testing are brought to the attention of the development team. Testers describe the problem in great detail, including how to duplicate it, screenshots, and any other pertinent data.
4. Regression Testing: Whenever updates are made to the program, manual testing is frequently carried out to make sure no new flaws have been introduced and that the functionality of the software as it currently exists has not been impacted.
5. Exploratory Testing: In addition to using established test cases, testers can also explore the product to find bugs that the existing test cases might not have caught. This enhances the test coverage in its entirety.

While human intuition and adaptability are advantages of manual testing, it also has drawbacks. It can take a lot of time, be labor-intensive, and be prone to mistakes made by people. Organizations frequently combine human and automated testing methodologies to test software applications thoroughly and efficiently in order to get over these restrictions.

Why do we need Manual Testing?

Despite the introduction of automated testing methods, manual testing remains an integral aspect of the software development life cycle. Here are a few explanations for why manual testing is essential:

1. From a Human Perspective: Manual testing enables testers to approach the product from the perspective of end users, offering insightful information about the user experience. It may be challenging for automated testing to appropriately evaluate variables like usability, intuitiveness, and overall satisfaction.
2. Exploratory Testing: Manual testing gives testers the opportunity to explore the software in an unscripted way, enabling the identification of unanticipated flaws, usability problems, or edge cases that might be missed by automated tests. It entails utilizing the program in a variety of ways to spot potential issues.
3. Adapting to Change: The requirements can change frequently since software development is dynamic. Manual testing provides flexibility to quickly adapt to these changes. To ensure the program complies with the revised requirements, testers can easily modify their test cases or develop new ones to cover the amended features.
4. Testing of User Interfaces: Manual testing is efficient for evaluating the visual elements and user interface interactions. To ensure that the software complies with the specified standards and branding guidelines, testers can check its layout, design, responsiveness, and aesthetics.
5. Early Testing: Even before automation is put in place, manual testing can start during the early phases of development. This promotes a more effective development process by enabling the early detection of important concerns. In the long term, it saves time and effort by catching bugs that are quicker and simpler to spot manually.
6. Non-Deterministic Scenarios: Due to their non-deterministic character, some scenarios, such as sophisticated business logic or particular user routines, may be difficult to automate. Such situations are better handled by manual testing, which offers a human touch to spot any potential abnormalities or exceptions.

Types of Manual Testing

Let’s understand these types of manual testing in brief:

White Box Testing

A software testing technique called white box testing, often referred to as clear box testing or structural testing, looks at the logic and internal organization of a system. It entails examining the software’s internal logic and source code to make sure it runs properly. The source code is available to testers, who utilize it to create test cases that are based on the internal organization of the system. Writing test cases to verify that all conditional statements within a function are executed correctly and result in the desired outputs would be an example of white box testing and would ensure complete coverage of the code pathways.

Black Box Testing

Black box testing is a type of software testing where just input and output behaviors are looked at and the internal workings of a system are not taken into account. Without being aware of the system’s core architecture or source code, testers concentrate on comprehending the system from the outside. The system is viewed as a “black box,” with the objective of finding differences between expected and actual results. For instance, black box testing in a web application can entail providing various inputs, such as valid and invalid data, to see if the correct results are obtained without looking at the underlying code.

Grey Box Testing

Grey box testing is a software testing technique that combines elements of black box testing and white box testing. It entails testing a system or application while just having a vague understanding of how it operates internally. The system’s specs, architecture, or design documents are some of the limited information that testers have access to. As a result, they are able to create test cases based on this knowledge while still considering the system as a black box. When a tester does a security assessment of a web application while having some understanding of its underlying database structure to find vulnerabilities, this is an example of grey box testing.

How to Perform Manual Testing in SDLC?

The act of manually testing software or apps without the aid of any automated tools is known as manual testing. The general procedures for manual testing are as follows:

• Understand Requirements: Testers must first have a thorough understanding of the project’s requirements. What does the client anticipate the application to deliver? What problem is it supposed to solve for end users? In order to understand the intended behavior of the software and precisely what has to be tested, testers must examine all required documents.
• Construct test cases: Testers can create test cases to cover a variety of scenarios once the requirements are clear, such as what happens when a user enters an incorrect password or how the software would respond to a crash. These test plans will outline a procedure for evaluating the functioning and usability of the entire program in relation to anticipated outcomes.
• Analyze test cases: Before starting the execution, it’s helpful to go over the draught test cases with the client and team leaders to make sure everything is covered and to make any necessary changes. Long-term, this will result in time savings.
• Carry out test cases: Any of the methods described in the preceding section can now be used for manual testing. The objective is to find flaws, potential user annoyances, and security holes that hackers could exploit against you. Testers run each test case individually, occasionally utilizing bug-tracking software like Jira.
• Report bugs: The testing team will send the metrics to the development team in the form of a test report when bugs are found. This includes information on how many errors or problems were discovered, how many test cases were unsuccessful, and which ones need to be performed again.
• Repeat the test: The program is given back to the testers after the development team has addressed the bugs. To confirm that the issue has been fixed, they run the test cases once more.

What are the Roles and Responsibilities of a Manual Tester?

The followings are the duties and roles that a manual tester performs:

• Collecting and analyzing the demands of the client.
• Creating the testing environment so that the test cases may be run.
• Analysis and execution of the test cases.
• Scheduling review sessions.
• Interacting with customers to ascertain their needs for the product.
• Engaging the Test Manager.
• Defect Monitoring.
• Assessing the usability, database effects, problems, and error outcomes from the testing.
• Creating reports on every action taken throughout software testing and reporting to design time.

What are the Advantages of Manual Testing?

Manual testing offers several advantages. They are as follows:

• Comprehensive understanding: Manual testing gives testers the chance to gain a deep grasp of the system being tested, allowing them to spot potential problems that automated methods might miss.
• Ad-hoc Exploration: Ad-hoc exploration of the application and its different capabilities is permitted during exploratory testing, which enables testers to find unforeseen bugs or usability problems.
• Flexibility: Manual testing allows for the adaptation of test cases and scenarios based on in-the-moment observations, which makes it simpler to deal with dynamic requirements or system changes.
• User-Centric Approach: By simulating actual user interactions and experiences during manual testing, testers can make sure the application lives up to user expectations and offers a seamless user experience.
• Visual and Intuitive Validation: Manual testing enables testers to visually evaluate the user interface, graphics, and layout of the application to make sure the aesthetics and visual components adhere to the design specifications.
• Early Defect Discovery: By facilitating the early detection of bugs and flaws during development, manual testing helps to lower the overall cost and effort associated with bug remediation.
• Complex Test Cases: Manual testing is more effective in testing complex cases, particularly those that involve human judgment, emotion, or decision-making, where automated technologies may fall short.
• Non-Repetitive Testing: For situations requiring non-repetitive or one-time testing, such as usability testing, user acceptability testing, or exploratory testing, manual testing is effective.
• Cost-Effective for Small Projects: Since manual testing does not necessitate the extensive setup or upkeep of automated testing frameworks, it can be a more cost-effective strategy for small projects with limited resources.
• Context-Driven Testing: Manual testing enables testers to apply contextual awareness and domain knowledge, enabling them to carry out focused testing in accordance with particular business needs and user scenarios.

What are the Disadvantages of Manual Testing?

Even though it is frequently important and necessary, manual testing has some drawbacks as compared to automated testing. Here are a few typical drawbacks of manual testing:

• Time-Consuming: Manual testing can be time-consuming because human testers must follow test cases step by step. This is true, especially for large and complicated software systems.
• Human Error-Prone: When doing tests, human testers may make mistakes that affect the results and may cause them to miss important flaws.
• Limited Coverage: Manual testing is constrained by the amount of time and resources available, which makes it challenging to obtain thorough test coverage, particularly for large-scale software applications.
• Repetitive Tasks: Testers frequently have to carry out repetitive test methods, which can be boring and exhausting and raise the risk of missing flaws.
• Expensive: Manual testing necessitates a specialized team of testers, which is costly, particularly for lengthy projects or when substantial regression testing is necessary.
• Lack of Scalability: Manual testing becomes more difficult to scale as software systems get bigger and more sophisticated, which causes delays and inefficiencies in the testing process.
• Limited Reusability: Manual test cases must be written from scratch for each software release because they are created specifically for a given software version and may not be readily adaptable for subsequent iterations or updates.
• Poor Quality Assurance: Variable degrees of knowledge among testers might result in varied testing methodologies and outcomes, making it difficult to set a solid standard for quality assurance.

Manual Testing Tools

There are many tools available on the market for manual testing, including Jira, Bugzilla, Mantis, Zap, NUnit, Tessy, LoadRunner, Citrus, SonarQube, and other forms of testing like unit, integration, security, performance, and bug tracking. The tools come in both open-source and paid varieties.

1. Jira: One of the top businesses dealing with problems with monitor programs is this one. Jira functions well as a management tool because of its cozy architecture and customizable features. Depending on the user and the type of task, working with Java might be simple or complex.
2. Trello: Trello is well-liked for its easy project management and effective issue tracking. With an easy-to-use setup and some advanced automation rules, testers are free to design the challenges that are made available to them.
3. Zephyr: Zephyr outdated spreadsheets, which work best when linked to Jira. It provides a well-organized layout design that is suitable for the majority of build kinds, which enhances the visibility of the test results.
4. Sauce Labs: It is not only thorough but also one of the tools that emphasize a clear background that makes it easy for people to utilize. It offers continuous cross-browser testing across a wide range of hardware and browsers. The distinctive characteristic is the inclusion of feedback loops, which enables quick and effective communication throughout the development cycle.
5. The Browser Stack: This testing tool is renowned and favored for its quick live application loading that maintains real-time in real-world browsers. Even though some of the sites are not fully functional, they will nevertheless demonstrate the essential and necessary functions.
6. Bugzilla: It is a crucial and extensively used tool for tracking bugs. It compiles the bug report and keeps track of the bugs. It can also be used as a tool for test management. With additional test case management solutions like quality center, ALM, etc., we can easily connect to them.
7. MantisBT: The “Mantis Bug Tracker” is referred to as MantisBT. It is a freeware utility and a bug-tracking system that operates online. It uses the PHP programming language and is modeled after software bugs.

In the next article, I am going to discuss Automation Testing in SDLC. Here, in this article, I try to explain Manual Testing in SDLC. I hope you enjoy this SDLC – Manual Testing article.