Common manual testing technique

Manual testing is one of the most essential stages in software development. Despite the rise of automated testing tools, manual testing continues to be crucial due to its ability to replicate human interactions and catch subtle issues that automation might miss. It involves testers running the software on their own, following a set of test cases or exploratory paths to identify defects.

In this blog, we'll explore the most common manual testing techniques, offering insights into each method and how they contribute to the overall quality assurance (QA) process.

REGRESSION TESTING:
Regression testing is usually performed to ensure new updates and recent changes are made to the software like bug fixing introducing new features which does not affect the existing feature of the software. The goal of regression testing is to confirm that previously working parts of the application continue to function as expected after changes.

TYPES:
1. Unit Regression Testing
2. Partial Regression Testing
3. Complete Regression Testing
4. Corrective Regression Testing
5. Progressive Regression Testing
6. Selective Regression Testing
7. Retest Regression Testing
8. Hybrid Regression Testing
9. Smoke Regression Testing

SMOKE TESTING:
The main purpose of this testing to ensure that the software is convenient and user friendly as expected. This test is a quick execution of a testing process which will not deep dive into the software features. This will ensure whether the user is able to navigate into the software without any technical knowledge also like WhatsApp, Youtube, Facebook.

Smoke Testing vs. Sanity Testing:
Smoke Testing: Focuses on testing the stability and core features of the application to ensure it is stable enough for further testing.
Sanity Testing: Performed after receiving a new build or fix. It checks whether the specific functionality, where issues were fixed, is working correctly. It’s a more narrow and specific form of testing compared to smoke testing.

INTEGRATION TESTING:
Integration testing is a type of software testing where individual components or modules of a system are combined and tested as a group. The goal is to check whether different parts of the application work together as expected.

TYPES OF INTEGRATION TESTING:
Big Bang Integration: All modules are integrated at once, and then the entire system is tested.
Incremental Integration: Components are integrated one at a time, and testing is done incrementally. This can be further divided into:
Top-down Integration: Testing starts from the top-level components and proceeds downward.
Bottom-up Integration: Testing starts from the lowest-level components and moves upward.
Sandwich/Hybrid Integration: A combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches.

COMPATIBILITY TESTING:
Compatibility testing is commonly used to ensure a software application works across different environment, platforms, devices and configurations. This helps to ensure that all the users able to use the software without any difficulties.

TYPES OF COMPATIBILITY TESTING:
1. Browser - Chrome, Firefox, edge.
2. Network - testing how software performs under various network conditions.
3. Hardware - Different processors, memory and graphics.
4. Version - verifies whether the new version works seamlessly with older version.
5. Mobile - iOS and android
6. Device like phones tablets, desktops and laptops.

USER ACCEPTANCE TESTING:
This testing focuses on ensuring whether the software developed meets the business requirements and expectations of its end users. This is usually a final phase of testing before the software is deployment to production. This testing will usually done by the end user of the software to ensure that the developed software is as per the expectations.

UAT Process:
Preparation: Gather requirements, prepare UAT scenarios, and set up the environment.
Execution: Users execute the test cases, perform the tasks they would in the real world, and document issues.
Issue Resolution: If issues are found, they’re logged, analyzed, and fixed.
Sign-Off: Once all issues are resolved and users are satisfied, the product is considered ready for production, and UAT is signed off.

END TO END TESTING:
This focuses on testing the complete workflow of an application from start to finish to ensure that all integrated components work together as expected. This is a crucial part of software testing, focused on ensuring that an entire application or system works as expected from start to finish, simulating real user interactions and verifying that the entire workflow functions correctly across all integrated components.
1. Test Planning - Test objective scope and goals and prepare a test case or scenario that reflect real user behaviour.
2. Test Environment Setup - configuring required infrastructure.
3. Test Execution - testing the result of the software like login, submitting forms, clicking buttons.
4. Test Monitoring - Monitoring the execution plan that runs as expected.
5. Issue Identification - identify any bugs or errors during testing.
6. Test Reporting - Analyze the results to identify patterns.
7. Test Closure - Review the entire testing process for improvement in future iteration.

TYPES OF END TO END TESTING:
Manual Testing: A tester manually runs test scenarios by interacting with the application.
Automated Testing: E2E tests can be automated using tools like Selenium, Cypress, or Playwright to simulate user actions and interactions.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF MANUAL TESTING:

ADVANTAGES:
Ensuring the software is developed as per the business requirements and user friendly. Flexible and adaptable, Better usability testing.

DISADAVANTAGES:
The manual testing usually a less efficient than automation testing. It is time consuming, human error, Expensive for larger projects, Not scalable.

Conclusion:
Manual testing plays a vital role in ensuring the quality, functionality, and usability of software applications. While automated testing is widely used for repetitive tasks and large-scale testing, manual testing remains crucial for areas that require human judgment, intuition, and the ability to think creatively.

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