Manual testers can swiftly adjust to software changes without needing to make significant script updates, whereas automation might take time. Professionals in manual testing are being hired by businesses of all sizes, from startups to major corporations. Improve your understanding of STLC, test planning, test execution, and testing tools with this manual testing tutorial for beginners. Explore our manual testing course syllabus and learn manual testing step by step.
Getting Started to Manual Testing
A basic software testing procedure is manual testing, in which testers carry out test cases without the use of automation technologies. Rather, they carefully engage with the software program, carrying out every action specified in the test strategy and painstakingly recording the results.
Overview of Manual Testing
Here is the overview of manual testing basics for beginners:
- Understanding Requirements: To understand the expected functionality and behavior of the application, testers first study the software requirements specification (SRS) and other pertinent documentation.
- Designing Test Cases: Testers develop comprehensive test cases based on the requirements. Every test case outlines a particular scenario, complete with input data, methods for execution, and the intended result.
- Test Case Execution: After that, testers meticulously follow the specified procedures to carry out these test cases in the software environment.
- Identifying Defects: While the application is running, testers watch how it behaves and contrast it with the desired results. Any divergence is considered a bug or flaw.
- Reporting Defects: After discovering a flaw, testers painstakingly record it, including information on how to replicate the problem, the actual outcome, and the anticipated outcome. For developers to comprehend and resolve the issue, this information is essential.
- Retesting: To make sure the fixes are successful and haven’t caused any new problems, testers conduct retesting once developers have addressed the reported bugs.
Since it enables the identification of usability problems, aesthetic flaws, and edge-case scenarios that automated testing could overlook, manual testing is essential.
Learn software testing from scratch with our manual testing online course program.
Fundamentals of Manual Testing
Here are the fundamentals of testing:
What is Software Testing?
Software testing is the process of assessing a program to make sure it satisfies the requirements and performs as intended. It entails carefully testing and validating multiple components of the software to find any problems, errors, or gaps.
Enhancing the software’s performance, dependability, and quality prior to deployment or end-user release is the main objective.
- Validation and Verification: Testing makes sure that the program works as intended and satisfies user requirements and expectations (question “Are we building the right product?” for validation) and “Are we building the product right?” for verification).
- Defect Detection: Finding bugs, mistakes, or vulnerabilities in the software’s performance, security, functionality, or other aspects is a primary goal of defect detection.
- Quality Assurance: To prevent errors and guarantee a high-quality result, testing is a crucial component of the software quality assurance (SQA) process.
- Providing Information: It gives interested parties unbiased, independent information regarding the software’s quality and the dangers of using it.
Why is Software Testing Important?
The software testing is important for the following causes:
- Ensures Product Quality: It assists in providing users with a software product that is dependable and stable.
- Reduces Costs: Defects are much less expensive to find and correct early in the development cycle than they are to solve after deployment.
- Improves User Satisfaction: User confidence and contentment are increased when a high-quality, error-free product is delivered.
- Enhances Security: Security testing finds flaws and makes sure the program is safe from possible dangers.
- Mitigates Risks: It assists in locating and reducing possible risks related to software malfunctions.
Enroll in our software testing online training courses.
Types of Software Testing
Software testing can be broadly classified into a number of categories, such as:
Based on Scope:
- Unit Testing: It is the process of testing separate software modules or components separately.
- Integration Testing: Testing how various modules or components interact with one another.
- System Testing: Verifying that the integrated system as a whole satisfies the requirements.
- Acceptance testing: It is the procedure by which stakeholders or end users assess if the software satisfies their business requirements and is prepared for deployment.
Based on Approach:
- Manual Testing: Without the use of automation tools, testers carry out test cases by hand.
- Automation Testing: The technique of employing specialized tools and scripts to run test cases automatically.
- Black-Box Testing: It is the process of testing software without knowing its fundamental structure or code. It emphasizes functionality based on input and output.
- White-Box Testing: Testing the internal workings and code organization of the software.
- Grey-Box Testing: A hybrid of white-box and black-box testing in which the tester is somewhat aware of the internal workings of the system.
Based on Goal:
- Functional Testing: It is the process of confirming that the program operates in accordance with the requirements.
- Examples: Acceptability testing, system testing, integration testing, and unit testing.
- Non-Functional Testing: It involves assessing features like performance, security, usability, dependability, and compatibility that go beyond the software’s functionality.
- Examples: Usability, security, and performance testing.
- Regression Testing: It is the process of retesting software following modifications or bug patches to make sure that current features are not negatively impacted.
- Performance Testing: It is the process of evaluating the software’s scalability, reliability, and responsiveness under varied workloads.
- Security Testing: Identifying errors and ensuring that the application is protected from dangers and unauthorized access.
- Usability Testing: Assessing the software’s ease of use and friendliness for end users.
Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC)
The Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC) is a methodical set of procedures followed during the software testing process. It describes the many phases of testing, starting with the preliminary planning and ending with the final closing.
The following phases are included in a typical STLC:
- Requirement Analysis: Knowing the software requirements and determining which ones can be tested is known as requirement analysis.
- Test Planning: Specifying the testing strategy, goals, resources, and scope is known as test planning.
- Test Case Design and Development: Developing test cases and scripts in accordance with the specifications is known as test case design and development.
- Test Environment Setup: Setting up the hardware, software, and network required to run tests is known as test environment setup.
- Test Execution: Executing the test cases and recording the outcomes, including any flaws discovered.
- Test Cycle Closure: Reviewing the entire testing procedure, assessing the test outcomes, and creating a test summary report.
Software testing is an essential process that helps ensure the delivery of high-quality software that meets user requirements and expectations.
Explore our loadrunner training in Chennai.
Why is Manual Testing Important?
Despite the benefits of automation, manual testing is essential for:
- Usability Testing: Evaluating the software’s intuitiveness and usability, which frequently calls for human judgment.
- Exploratory Testing: By examining the program without using pre-made test cases, exploratory testing enables testers to find unforeseen problems.
- Complex Scenarios: Effective automation of certain scenarios can be challenging or time-consuming.
- Visual Inspection: Finding UI and UX problems that automated checks could miss.
Test Case Design Techniques
Effective test case creation is essential to manual testing success. Here are a few typical methods:
Boundary Value Analysis (BVA): Testing the values at the limits or edges of input ranges is known as boundary value analysis.
Example: You would test 17, 18, 65, and 66 if an age field took values between 18 and 65.
Equivalence Partitioning (EP): It is the process of grouping the input data into partitions, where the software is supposed to treat each value equally.
Decision Table Testing: Constructing tables to illustrate intricate logical relationships and the behaviors that follow.
State Transition Testing: Examining the software’s various states and how it changes between them in response to inputs or events.
Use Case Testing: It is the process of creating test cases according to the different scenarios or use cases of how users will engage with the program.
Error Guessing: It is the process of predicting possible mistakes and creating test cases to find them by using the tester’s intuition and experience. This is often used in conjunction with other techniques.
Test Execution and Defect Management
Executing Test Cases: Completing the actions specified in the test cases and noting if the actual outcome is what was anticipated.
Defect Reporting: Clearly and concisely documenting any deviations from the expected behavior (defects or bugs). A quality defect report consists of:
- Unique Identifier: The defect’s reference number.
- Summary: A succinct explanation of the flaw.
- Steps to Reproduce: Comprehensive guidelines for causing the flaw.
- Expected Outcome: What ought to have occurred.
- Actual Result: What actually happened.
- Severity: The impact of the flaw on the software’s functionality is known as its severity (e.g., critical, major, minor).
- Priority: The degree of urgency (high, medium, or low) with which the flaw needs to be corrected.
- Environment Details: Details about the database, browser, operating system, etc. where the flaw was found.
- Attachments (screenshots, logs): Screenshots and logs are examples of attachments that provide supporting documentation and visual proof.
Defect Tracking Tools: Knowledge of defect management and tracking tools, such as Jira, Bugzilla, and HP ALM.
Test Reporting: It is the process of compiling the results of testing, including the quantity of test cases that were run, passed, failed, and blocked.
Recommended: JMeter training in Chennai.
Different Types of Manual Testing
There are multiple approaches for manual testing, and each one focuses on a distinct feature of the program. The various forms of manual testing that you should be aware of are broken down as follows:
Based on Tester’s Perspective/Knowledge
Black-Box Testing: In this type of testing, the tester is unaware of the software’s internal operations, code structure, or implementation.
- They only pay attention to the inputs and outputs, interacting with the application as an end-user would.
- Verifying the functionality in relation to the given requirements is the aim.
- Examples include adding and removing products from a shopping cart to verify its functionality or testing login functionality by entering valid and invalid credentials.
White-Box Testing: In this type of testing, the tester is familiar with the internal architecture, code, and structure of the program.
- They can now test particular code pathways, branches, and circumstances due to this.
- Developers or testers with strong technical skills frequently conduct white-box testing.
- Examples include confirming code coverage or testing particular operations or processes inside a module.
Gray-Box Testing: This hybrid technique involves the tester having some understanding of the application’s internal workings.
- Understanding the possible underlying causes of problems discovered during black-box testing and creating more efficient test cases, particularly for integration testing, can be aided by this limited knowledge.
- A tester might, for instance, be aware of the database schema but not the precise code implementation.
Based on the Testing Focus
Functional Testing: Verifying that the software operates in accordance with the requirements is the main goal of functional testing.
- Each function of the program is tested by providing inputs and contrasting the outcomes with the expected behavior.
- There are various functional testing tiers (acceptance, system, integration, and unit).
- Examples include evaluating all the elements of a user profile page or confirming the calculations in a financial program.
Non-Functional Testing: This kind concentrates on features of the program that aren’t directly related to its functionalities. It verifies attributes such as dependability, security, performance, and usability.
- Usability Testing: It evaluates the software’s ease of use and intuitiveness for end users. It entails watching users engage with the program to spot any misunderstandings or issues.
- Performance Testing: It assesses the software’s scalability, stability, and responsiveness under varied workloads. Performance testing comes in a variety of forms, including endurance, stress, and load testing.
- Security Testing: Finding vulnerabilities and guaranteeing the availability, confidentiality, and integrity of data and the application are the goals of security testing.
- Compatibility Testing: It confirms that the program functions properly in a variety of settings, including operating systems, devices, and browsers.
- Installation Testing: Testing the software’s installation and configuration in the intended environment is known as installation testing.
- Recovery Testing: This confirms that the program can bounce back from errors or crashes.
Regression Testing: This is conducted after any updates, problem fixes, or upgrades are applied to the software. The objective is to make sure that the current functionality continues to perform as intended and that no new flaws have been created by the changes.
Acceptance Testing: Usually the last phase of testing, this is carried out by stakeholders or end users to ascertain whether the program satisfies their requirements and is prepared for deployment. Two popular types are Business Acceptance Testing (BAT) and User Acceptance Testing (UAT).
Suggested: Selenium Testing Training in Chennai.
Based on the Timing and Formality
Unit Testing: It involves testing various software components or modules independently. Developers may conduct some manual unit tests, even though they are frequently automated.
Integration Testing: It verifies that the software’s various components connect with one another and function as intended.
System Testing: This ensures that every part of the integrated system functions as intended by testing the system as a whole.
Smoke Testing (Build Verification Testing): It is carried out on a new software build to see if the most important features are operational.
Exploratory Testing: It is a less structured method in which testers design tests, conduct them, and learn about the product all at once. It mainly depends on the tester’s experience and instincts.
Ad-hoc Testing: It is a totally unstructured style of testing that is carried out without any predetermined test cases or procedures. The objective is to identify flaws that formal testing could overlook.
A well-rounded testing approach that ensures thorough coverage and a high-quality software product requires an understanding of these many forms of manual testing.
Explore all our software training courses for a bright career in IT.
Conclusion
We hope you have found here the best manual testing tutorial for beginners. Software development involves countless hours of development, testing, and deployment. The software’s functionality and usability can determine how consumers perceive your company and help you stand out from the competition. Kickstart your software testing career with our Manual Testing Training in Chennai.
