Software Testing Methods: Which One Is Better for Quick and Reliable Results?

Software testing is one of the key parts of building any software or application. Typically, software testing will help developers identify and triage any bugs. These bugs can range from missing semicolons in the code to entire features that are necessary to the business strategy. As such, software testing is an essential aspect of a team’s test-driven development environment.

However, companies in every industry are automating many of their practices, including software testing. Before software test automation, the testing process had to be done all manually and was slow,expencive, and error-prone. Implementing automated testing to the software testing process not only solves these problems but also speeds the delivery and allows to do re-tests during the software development. In addition, companies are turning to software to automate their processes and make their operations more efficient. As a result, software quality is more important than ever, which increases the demand for robust functions that don’t let users down.

Within this article, we’ll be looking at software testing’s role in the development process, the difference between software test automation and manual testing, and which option offers quick and reliable testing results.

Check out the rest of the article below for more information.

What Is Software Testing?

Before discussing the difference between automated and manual testing, it’s good to understand what software testing entails.

Software testing is the process used by testers to determine whether a software service or product meets the developer’s requirements. First, software testers scour the software or application to find bugs and errors. Then, testers create a batch of test cases and conduct thorough test runs.

Once the tester runs those tests, they will send reports on any defective features to the developers to rectify. Once those features are fixed, the developers send them back to the testers for further evaluation. Finally, the tester will re-run the same test cases to confirm there are no issues with the triaged features. This back-and-forth continues until the software reaches the appropriate quality level and is ready to go public.

There are numerous testing options available during the software development process. However, choosing the right testing tools can be difficult, especially if your team has limited experience with automated testing. As such, it is up to a Quality Assurance team (QA team) to establish a testing method that utilizes testing tools that work for the product type and development team’s capabilities.

Testing is crucial to measure every aspect of the software or application’s functionality. Any substantial bugs or errors can have severe repercussions on the business’s reputation and profits.

What Is Manual Testing?

Traditionally, testers would need to use manual software testing methods. They would utilize human intuition and use their best judgment to test the process thoroughly.  One of the key benefits of manual testing is getting accurate feedback and more control over your testing results. Testers also do not need to pay for any automation tools, training, or processes.

However, while human judgment helps identify bugs and errors that would go unnoticed by AI, it can also make the testing process unreliable. For instance, a small number of testers on a large-scale problem will eventually cause a bottleneck; the testing process will slow down, testers will get tired, and they are more likely to miss obvious bugs.

What Is Automated Testing?

Automated testing involves using scripts and automated testing tools, such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. As a result, tests can be run automatically, making them more reliable. They will also find more bugs compared to the manual testing process. In addition, testers can record the automation process, meaning they can reuse and execute tests when faced with the same testing conditions.

Certain software testing suites like Selenium can improve the testing team’s productivity and give quick and accurate testing results. In addition, automated testing also allows for wider coverage as the automated test script does not skip over any unit, no matter how small.

Unfortunately, testing tools are expensive, making automated testing difficult for smaller testing teams on a modest budget. Some teams may see automated testing as a risk; they also need to train a member of the team or hire new staff to implement the automated testing strategy properly. 

Test script maintenance is another automated testing limitation. Development teams need to understand that testers must maintain scripts and even alter scripts that are not working as they should; this can take some time to get right.

Final Thoughts on Software Testing Methods

Most testing teams deploy a hybrid testing strategy that utilizes automated and manual testing. For instance, automated testing helps testers discover bugs quickly and ensures a wider test coverage, but manual testing utilizes human intuition to see how the app works and looks – automated testing fails to pick up on visual gaffs or issues with the front-end (such as colors, button sizes, contract, how the text looks against the background, etc.).

In conclusion, automated testing offers quick and reliable results, but it cannot cover certain software and application aspects.