Manual testing

What is manual testing?
Manual testing is a testing technique where testers evaluate software or application quality manually without any involvement of automated testing tools.
Testers write testcases based on requirements shared by Business analysts.
Once testcase writing is completed and then they verify these testcases by executing manually on working application or software.

Steps in Manual Testing
1)Requirement analysis – In this stage Testers do analysis of requirements. They identify test- conditions. They identify the required infrastructure and tools.

2)Test plan creation -Here test plan document is created by Test manager or Test lead. Documents describes test objectives, what are the different testing techniques are going to use. Exit criteria must be defined in document so that testers should know when testing is complete.

3)Testcase creation- In Testcase creation write testcases based on requirement documents share by BA. They create test data if needed for testcases execution. In some organization test case writing can be done in excel or may be in some tool.

4)Testcase execution- In this step, testers execute those testcases on test environment. They verify each step written in testcase then verify with expected result. If actual result and expected result both are same, then they mark test case as “Pass” otherwise “Fail”. For Fail testcase they open a bug in defect tracking tool.

5)defect logging – Once defect is logged in Defect tracking tool, defect is assigned to developer who is working on that module.

6)Defect Fix and Reverification – In this step, once dev fixes the defect, he changed the state of defect to resolved and assigned back to tester who has opened the same bug. After getting defect resolved notification tester again retest fail testcase to verify “Is Actual result is same as expected Result.” If yes, then he marks as “Pass” to testcase and change the state of defect to “closed” Otherwise, he again “Reopen” the defect and assigned back to developer. Tester has to close all the defects then we can say testing is completed.

What are benefits and drawbacks of manual testing?

Benefits:
• Less expensive: It is less expensive.
• no coding skills required.
• Manual testing is helpful in case of unplanned changes comes in application.
• Tester can not automate testcases till manual tester have tested the application fully.
• So, to get stable environment for automation testing, manual testing should get completed.
• For small projects with limited budgets, manual testing can be cheaper than setting up and maintaining automation frameworks.
• Manual testers can evaluate user experience more efficiently.

Drawbacks:
• Manual testing is less efficient and time consuming.
• It is difficult to ensure 100% test coverage.
• Manual testing is less reliable as it does not cover all aspects of testing.
• When ever there is change happens in application manual tester must test all the testcases again.
• Manual testing requires numerous human resources and there are some requirements that cannot verify manually.
• Manual testers can explore only limited scenarios compared to automated scripts that can run no. of scripts simultaneously.

Examples of Manual testing
Consider a scenario tester needs to test ecommerce website.
Test scenarios: User registration and check out process.

Testcase 01: Verify successful registration.
Step 1: Navigate to registration page, fill in the valid user details and submit form.
Expected Result user receives a confirmation message and can log in.

Testcase 02: Failed Registration
Steps 1: attempt to login with invalid user details or incomplete information.
Expected Result: login failed, and screen shows error message.

Testcase03: Check out Process.
Step 1: add items in cart, proceed to cart and complete the purchase.
Expected Result: Successful order placement and confirmation email to customer.

Testcase04: Verify search functionality.
Step1: Enter valid product name and click on
search icon.
Expected Result: Screen should show products of
given name.

Through manual testing Tester perform these steps and verify the expected result. Then come to conclusion that Testcase is pass or fail.