Manual testing vs Automation testing — when to use which?

Generally, testing involves a lot of repetitive tasks since the same modules need pass same quality checks before each release. This not only takes a lot of time and effort but may increase the possibility of human error if the checks are being done manually — to err is to human :)

What’s the difference between manual and automation testing?

Manual quality assurance — is a process of employing human testers to go through an applications functionality and identify product defects for fixing before an application is finally launched to the live environment.

Automation testing — refers to the process of writing code or employing tools that do the testing on the application for you and then provides the required results.

As much as the two do almost the same thing, it is important to know when to employ one mode of testing as compared to the other.

Differences between manual and automated testing

— Manual testing is sometimes unreliable as human error is likely to occur at any point of the process, automated tests are more reliable since programmed scripts are used to run the tests
— Manual testing is very useful in cases where the tests involve user experience or processes that involve vision while automated tests cannot guarantee user related experiences.
— Manual testing is very applicable if the tests are not run frequently.
— In manual testing, human resources are required to perform the tests making this testing process expensive.

— Automated tests become even more useful if the application requires repeated testing. Manual human testers may get tired from doing the same tasks over and over, while a script can do the same task over and over with consistent results.

How do you choose?

Based on the factors above and according to your company requirements, it becomes easy to decide on how to set up a quality team.

Thanks for reading!