Manual Testing

Manual testing is the process of testing a software manually by a tester, without using any automated tools.

Testing is done by following a set of predetermined tasks that need to be performed in order to check the performance of an application from an end user perspective.

The tester performs a series of tests to check if the inputs entered produce the desired output. In the process of testing a software, bugs and other errors are also corrected either by the tester or the developer.

For example, in order to check a website developed, user login credentials are verified by checking output when the username format or password is incorrect.

Benefits:

Flexibility:
Manual testing allows a tester to have a wide range of testing scenarios that can be tested. The tester is able to understand that end user experience and provide the necessary changes to improve user experience.

Early detection of bugs:
By manually testing the software, the tester is able to identify bugs and other serious flaws quickly and inform the developers. This avoids expensive rework later in the development cycle.

Detect more bugs:
Manual testers can detect subtle bugs in the software that may be overlooked in automation testing, for example visual inconsistency or usability.

Better understanding of user experience:
Manual testers gain a deeper knowledge of how the software works and how it is intended to work. This helps in finding potential issues and improves the end user experience.

Better testing coverage:
A manual test is more creative and can think more creatively to explore different paths to check the software.

Cost-effective:
Manual testing is more cost-effective than automated testing especially in case of small projects or limited budgets.

Drawbacks:

Susceptible to human errors:
Few bugs and defects may be overlooked due to tiredness, lack of focus and distraction.This is not the case with automated testing.

Time consuming:
Manually testing every feature and every function takes many extra hours while in case of automated testing, tests are performed in a fraction of that time.

Expensive:
Manual testing can be expensive especially in case of big projects as it requires more resources such as employees, machines and time.

Difficult to measure:
It is sometimes difficult to measure the efficiency of the testing process as it is difficult to keep track of the quantity and quality of tests performed, test coverage attained and the errors discovered.

In conclusion, manual testing has both benefits that make it crucial in software testing and drawbacks that can be challenging. It is important to take these into consideration before designing the testing process.