What is the Difference Between Manual Testing and Automation Testing?
Iulian Vaduva
Adapting today's IT to address the challenges and innovations of Digital Healthcare Technology | Software Development | Medical Software & Devices Quality Assurance Experts | Aligning IT and Business |
The most substantial difference between manual testing and automation testing comes down to who (or what) carries out the test cases.
In manual testing, QA engineers execute each test case on an individual basis in order to catch bugs and feature issues before software deployment.
In automation testing, multiple test cases are executed simultaneously based on provided test scripts which are run through?automated functional testing tools. Therefore, the manual testing and automation testing difference comes down to whether a human or machine carries out the test case.
So, how do you decide between automated versus manual testing? That decision depends on the goal for each test case and the expected result from the test.
But is automated versus manual testing the better way to go? Does automation replace manual testing?
Not quite. The difference between manual and automation testing can easily be compared to driving a car versus walking. Driving a car to a destination in many instances is the faster, more efficient option. However, there are also many circumstances, where driving a car would not be appropriate and cost-effective.
The benefits of automation testing over manual testing only apply to test cases where test automation provides more accuracy, efficiency, and cost savings. Applying automation testing across the board can damage the quality and experience of your product.
Are there benefits of automation testing over manual testing?
Of course. In fact, many successful companies enjoy the benefits that manual and automation testing provide simply by incorporating both testing practices into their QA process and tracking the?key QA performance metrics.
Manager of Quality Assurance at MED2020 Health Care Software Inc.
1 年Iulian Vaduva ?Even though I appreciate your post I had to add the following: "Manual" Testing and "Automated" Testing are not types of "Testing" but methods of execution that said there is nothing "Manual" about "Testing" and "Testing" cannot be automated. You either test with or without the assistance of tools. Therefore there is no versus. "Testers" today need to be learning continuously that said an analysis needs to be done for every "Testing Activity" and once that's done a decision on whether to use a tool or not can be made. That terrible term "Manual" from the 1970s needs to be dropped by the community as it is only used to label people and really serves no other purpose. I too back in the day was indoctrinated into using that term until I came to realize the negative connotations that came with that term. Testing activities and job postings for that matter should be defined by the skills that are required and not by labels. At the end of the day it's all "Testing". In our profession words do matter. I hope this helps.