Pros and Cons of Automated & Manual QA Software Testing

February 14, 2022

Last Updated date: March 27, 2022

Manual and automated testing plays a key role in the software quality assurance process. First of all, code review allows you to verify the quality of the product being developed, which increases the reputation of the application due to positive user feedback.

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Often, on large and complex projects, testers are faced with the use of both automated and manual testing at the same time. And about why it is often impossible to get by with only manual or automated checks, as well as some of the pros and cons of each direction, we will talk in this article.

The choice of the type of testing is influenced by such factors as:

* the number of corrections that are planned to be made;

* the ability to add additional functionality to the development;

* the ability to update the software in the future.

The relationship and ratio of these factors affect the duration of product testing.

Often, manual testing of applications is a time-consuming and time-consuming process. Unless combined with automated, this type of verification can only be used on small, short-term projects.

Manual testing is a direct interaction between a QA engineer and an application. In its process, you can get feedback about the product, which is impossible if you use automated testing.

In addition, the tester will be able to make his own feedback and recommendations for improving the software, and the testing will be evidence of a comparison of the expected and actual results.

Another feature of manual testing is feedback on user interface design. At the moment, there are no services that would compare the desired result with the real one. Only a QA engineer will be able to pay attention to nuances in color tones or asymmetrical arrangement of fields and buttons. We recommend you this service – Savarian.tech.

Benefits of manual testing

The tester’s report is the first feedback from a potential client, which will allow you to understand how convenient the product is for the end-user.
UI feedback. It seems possible to test the overall design of the application and identify its shortcomings only with manual testing.
Price. When it comes to a small project, manual testing is always less expensive than automation.
Flexibility. Testing of minor changes occurs immediately, without the cost of writing code. This is especially important when introducing new functionality quickly when you need to be sure that it will work correctly.
Exploratory testing and the possibility of improvisation allow you to test the potential of the application in atypical scenarios and detect significant defects in a short time.

Cons of manual testing

Human factor. Some product errors may be missed, and some test results may be subjective.
Labor costs and duration. A series of automated tests allow you to test the software much faster.
Inability to simulate a large load. With manual testing, it is impossible to simulate a large number of users.

Application test automation is based on writing code. The automated testing technique allows you to create the expected scenario, and then compare it with the real one and point out discrepancies.

Automation is most applicable in complex applications with a large functional part. The automation of testing hard-to-reach places of the application, validation forms, basic operations, and frequently used functionality is especially popular. You can learn more about it here – https://savarian.tech/services/software-testing-company.

Benefits of automated testing

Application load. When automated testing is used, it becomes possible to simulate a large load that is close to the real situation.
Time factor. Manual testing is a long and resource-intensive process, while the script code is written once.
Repeatability. Autotest code can be reused many times, especially when introducing new functionality.

Disadvantages of automated testing

Lack of feedback. Automated testing is not able to provide feedback on the quality of the product – it only executes pre-programmed scenarios.
Lack of testing through the eyes of the user. Sometimes there are errors in the application that may not be covered by autotests.
Lack of ability to test color, design, and ergonomics. This point is not paramount, but can significantly affect the quality of the product.
Reliability. Automated tests can fail for many reasons, such as when the test machine is heavily loaded or there are network problems.
Price. For small projects, automated testing tools can be quite expensive, so it is more rational to use them for long-term projects.