Manual Testers are from Mars, Automation Engineers are from Venus

by Ken Miller Tech Writer

The basic difference between manual testing and automated testing is that the former requires a person, whereas the latter requires a button. Many reports have also highlighted how an enterprise can avail several benefits by automating its software testing process. But many enterprises still deploy manual testers because they consider testing automation both complex and expensive. Also, many companies still believe that it is the price of manual testing is lower than software development cost. However, each company wants to choose the best testing options to impress users by delivering a flawless product. So each company must understand the key differences between manual testing and automated testing to take the right decision.

Key Points of Distinction between Manual and Automation Testing

1. Required Time: Many companies find manual testing to be both tedious and time-consuming. As human resources are deployed to execute the test cases, it takes more time to complete the testing process. On the other hand, the automation testing can be done using a set of tools and frameworks. As no human effort is required, these tools can customize the testing process, and execute test cases at a much faster pace.

2. Investment in Human Resources: When a business opts for manual testing, it becomes essential to hire skilled and experienced software testers. A company may also have to deploy several software testing professionals to increase the pace of the testing process. So manual testing required businesses to invest in human resources. But automation testing does not require enterprises to invest in human resource. A company can simply procure the testing tools and framework to run test scripts and identify bugs.

3. Reliability of Test Results: The frequent changes in user demand require each software application to be tested under a number of circumstances. Further, the testing must be done with 100% precision by emulating exact user behavior. But the reliability of test results can be impacted by several factors including human errors. As manual testing requires test scripts to be executed by human resources, the chances of human errors increase. On the other hand, automation testing can deliver precise results each time by performing the same operation under different conditions.

4. Programmability: The software testing plan must aim to identify all bugs along with fetching hidden information. So sophisticated testing needs to be done using programming to find and fetch the hidden information. The manual testing is not effective in getting the information due to its non-programmable nature. But the automation testing allows testers to write sophisticated programs to identify bugs and flaws along with bringing the hidden information out.

5. Option to Incorporate Changes: The software developers often experiment with new technologies, databases and third-party applications to improve use experience. Further, they include the latest version of a software application to avail additional features and functionality. So there are always chances that a software development project needs to be revamped completely before its release. As the manual upgrade tests take more time, most business opt for automation testing. The automated testing tools further allow professionals to test the project several times to identify the bugs and hidden information.

6. Required Maintenance: Unlike manual testing methods, automation testing requires specific maintenances. But it allows developers to complete the testing at a rapid pace. With more and more enterprises opting for test-based software development, it has become essential to save the time and effort of developers. When a software developer is not required to spend more time in testing, it will be easier for him to explore innovative ways to optimize the look, feel, performance and scalability of the application. So the automation testing can get more ROI despite requiring additional maintenance.

It is always important for an enterprise to decide the right type of testing by keeping in mind the nature and requirements of the project. A company can further consider implementing a customized software testing strategy that includes the best aspects of manual as well as automation testing. And that’s when you would need to hire automation testers and manual testers who are certified and benchmarked by the industry.

We provide software testing services and are among the top software testing companies India. If you would like to talk to one of our certified software testers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.