When you are developing software, the quality assurance process helps ensure that you deliver a reliable, error-free, and high-quality product to your end users. This can be accomplished via manual testing or automated testing — but which is the right choice for you?
Each type of testing has its own strengths and weaknesses, and having a clear understanding of the key differences can benefit your tech company. We want to help put you in the best position to succeed at Truss and have created a quick comparison of manual vs. automated QA to help your company find the right balance.
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Manual Testing QA vs Automated Testing QA
The first step to finding the right type of QA testing for your tech company is to understand how each method works and the key differences between the two types of testing. With this broader understanding, you can examine the strengths and weaknesses of each method to find the right fit for your company.
What Is Manual Testing for QA?
Manual testing for software relies on a human tester to check for quality. With this method, testers will interact directly with the software to check function and usability to determine if the software applications check all the boxes. This method of testing involves fewer software tools to accomplish the end goal and instead relies on the tester’s abilities.
What Is Automated Testing for QA?
Automated testing relies on automation testing tools and software scripts to test software and make sure the software functions as it should. This method relies on pre-written and pre-built applications rather than human testers to test your software and gives tech companies the capability to test different aspects of the software with — unit tests, function tests, integration tests, performance tests, and security tests.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Manual Testing
No matter which method you choose to test QA for your software, you will find that there are strengths and weaknesses. Armed with this understanding you can find the right fit for your tech company and your products.
Strengths of Manual Testing
- Reduces the costs of QA testing for your company.
- Takes a more granular approach and finds small errors that automated testing may not.
- Performed by human testers and provides a more realistic test of the user experience.
- It is flexible and can be adapted quickly to meet your needs.
- More efficient when you test complex integrations, user interfaces, and other cases.
Weaknesses of Manual Testing
- It is a more time-consuming testing process than automated testing when it is a large project.
- Higher costs due to how long the testing process takes.
- Employing manual testing for larger projects can make it difficult to scale the test.
- Human testers mean that the testing is prone to errors and mistakes.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Automated Testing
Automated testing provides tech companies with a more efficient way to test software and applications — but like manual testing, it has its own set of strengths and weaknesses that are important to know and understand.
Strengths of Automated Testing
- The use of pre-written scripts and pre-built applications makes automated testing more efficient and provides more immediate feedback.
- Automated testing provides additional coverage and multiple test functions to give you increased coverage.
- Has the potential to help you detect errors and defects earlier in the testing process.
- More comprehensive testing leads to increased transparency and more complete data.
Weaknesses of Automated Testing
- It can be complicated to set up automation testing tools and to find the right tool to test your software.
- The use of automation testing tools means additional costs.
- May require additional time and continuous updates to automated test scripts.
- Automated testing may require a specialized skillset to update test scripts.
- May not detect specific types of bugs or errors.
READ MORE: Overcoming Common Test Automation Challenges
What Is the Right Balance Between Manual and Automated Testing?
Which QA testing method is right for you? How do you find the right balance between manual and automated testing?
With a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each method, you can benefit from the strengths and mitigate the weaknesses of each testing method. Automated testing is ideal for lower-level, repetitive testing that highlights the core functions of your applications. Manual testing is ideal for testing the user experience and more in-depth and detailed tests.
There are a pair of methods that you can use to help you balance manual and automated testing — the Automation Pyramid and the Hybrid Approach. With the Automation Pyramid, you use automated testing for lower level unit and integration testing and manual testing for function and user experience testing. The Hybrid Approach involves automated testing for repetitive tasks and manual testing for more subjective elements.
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Do you have software or applications that you need to test for quality and reliability? This overview of manual vs. automated QA created by Truss will help you find the right balance that best meets your criteria.
Contact Truss today to learn more about how to find, recruit, and hire QA testers in Central Asia with our global hiring platform!
