QA – Talent500 Blog

Manual testing guide: Types, myths & tools

Posted on October 31, 2022November 8, 2022 by supriya

Software development is more than just writing lines of code. There’s planning, strategizing, development, DevOps, and at the final stage, testing. Two approaches can be taken for software testing – manual and automated.

In most projects, you must skillfully combine manual and automated testing for the most comprehensive testing. However, both approaches are not entirely interchangeable and have significant differences.

This article covers only manual testing in detail; you can read more about automation testing here. Let’s start from the beginning.

What is manual testing?

Manual testing is an approach that evaluates the performance of software and examines its features from the end-user perspective to assess its quality. It is much more intensive QA testing as it involves human testers closely monitoring the code quality, identifying existing defects, and anticipating any possible weaknesses.

The profound impact of manual testing results from its four-stage process.

A manual testing project starts with a requirement study that involves testers getting acquainted with quality assurance requirements. QA engineers understand the software’s needs, objectives, operating principles, main features and functions, and possible vulnerabilities at this stage.

The next step is to design test cases to examine all possible use cases of the software. Testers can use Excel sheets to document their test cases, but if the project is large, it is not the most efficient way. There are efficient case management tools for manual testers like Kissflow, Appian, and Alfresco that can help them document test cases and automate the workflow.

Testing and bug reporting follow the test case design. Manual testers create the environment to live test the software. They continuously log bugs that they come across using a bug-tracking system.

The final step is the analysis of manual testing results. Here, the aim is to generate valuable metrics to help developers fix defects and bugs.

When to use manual testing?

Some people believe that test automation is a replacement for manual testers. QA engineers understand that manual testing is indispensable for several reasons.

1. Certain tests can only be successful manually

For instance, user experience testing during quality assurance cannot be complete without manual testing. You can automate the UX/UI testing workflow, but only a human can adequately perform tasks like an end user. Compatibility and interactions are essential for mobile devices, and any app, if deployed without manual testing, risks being buggy.

2. Large software almost always has hidden bugs

Automated testing might be able to discover most bugs testing a small-scale software product, but when things go to the enterprise level, it is impossible to detect hidden bugs. Machines can be programmed to test for specific bugs. But manual testers run into hidden bugs during their routine tasks. Automation testing can never detect such defects.

3. When budget is a constraint

Automated testing can be expensive. If your budget is low, you do not want to spend your initial investments on testing the product before it can hit the market. Due to its low maintenance expenses, manual testing is a more suitable option here.

4. Automation often falls behind sprints

Maintaining automated test cases is no easy job. You have to update the scripts for performance and validity continuously. It is difficult for automated testing to keep up with frequent software update releases. Manual testing can manage to be in sync with sprints.

5. Repetition and variability

Any effective QA testing will have two characteristics – repetition and variability. Automated testing is excellent for repetitive testing processes, but that’s not enough. Without manual testing, you cannot introduce variability in the process. This is why automation is often combined with manual testing.

Common myths surrounding manual testing

As a manual tester, you might often hear these myths:

Manual testing is easy: If you think anyone can do manual testing, then you are misinformed. It requires skills and a certain mindset to be a successful manual tester.
Automation will replace manual testing: Again, it’s impossible to simulate human interaction with the software entirely. Manual testers will always remain relevant.
QA engineers are only involved in the post-development stage: Companies with successful products know that testers must work simultaneously with developers to catch bugs early on. Including testers in the final step is a risky venture.

Best tools for manual testing

Depending on the stage at which you are conducting the manual testing, you can pick from these tools:

For case management: Kissflow, Appian, Alfresco

For bug tracking: Jira, Bugzilla, Trello

For cross-browser testing: BrowserStack, Sauce Labs

Screen capture tools: Loom, Skitch, CloudApp

Conclusion

Manual testing remains an essential aspect of successful software products. As software becomes more user-oriented, manual testers are becoming increasingly important in guiding the efficiency of automated testing.

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Best web automation tools for QA in 2022

Posted on October 31, 2022November 8, 2022 by supriya

Web automation tools are great for the quality testing of web and mobile products. While manual testing is more rigorous and profound, it’s not always a cost-effective solution for testing applications. That is why development teams widely adopt QA automation which allows them to create low-code or scriptless test cases. Another benefit of automation is that it helps facilitate continuous testing throughout the software development life-cycle, which results in faster and leaner development. QA tools are essential for any software development team.

For this article, our expert QA testers handpicked the best web automation tools for quality assurance in 2022.

1. BrowserStack

BrowserStack is a cloud-based QA automation tool that allows QA engineers to conduct comprehensive web and mobile testing. Many teams use this tool to verify the cross-browser compatibility of their applications to ensure they offer a unified user experience. You can test your applications’ functionality, performance, and visual appeal using BrowserStack.

To further its implementation, the developers of this tool offer Percy, an automated visual testing product that developers can integrate into their CI/CD pipelines. Visual testing in modern application development is essential as it allows QA engineers to identify visual regressions before impacting end users. With Percy, you can capture screenshots and make a pixel-by-pixel comparison of the application’s UI baseline to recognize any defects quickly.

Development teams can integrate BrowserStack with some of the most popular automation frameworks like Espresso and Appium. It also connects to popular CI/CD tools like Bamboo and Jenkins.

2. testRigor

testRigor is a QA automation tool for functional UI regression and exploratory testing. One of the most robust QA tools, it relies on artificial intelligence to autonomously generate test cases by predicting end-user behavior. If you are looking for a low-maintenance testing tool, testRigor offers unmatched efficiency. QA engineers can write test cases in plain English, reducing testing phase time significantly. It is also available as the Chrome browser extension to record your tests. You can register yourself using an application, and this QA automation tool will generate a test case based on the recording. There is no coding or dependency on XPath, so the test cases are highly stable and easy to maintain. You can integrate testRigor with TestRail, Git, Azure DevOps, and Jenkins.

3. Autify

Another AI-powered QA automation tool, Autify, supports no-code testing of web and mobile applications. The tool lets QA engineers create test scenarios by emulating the use of the application as a user. Due to its no-code, intuitive UI, some of the largest tech companies like Unity, DeNA, Radar, and Globis use Autify for testing their applications.

Autify offers parallel execution, visual regression testing, and Shadow DOM elements. One of this testing tool’s unique features is that it can run up to 10 cross-browser tests simultaneously. The AI used in this tool automatically monitors the app UI for any changes, and if detected, the test scenarios are accordingly updated. As for integration, your team can use Autify with Jenkins, Webhook, TestRail, CircleCI, and Slack.

4. Katalon Studio

Katalan Studio is a comprehensive QA automation testing tool that you can use for APIs, web interfaces, mobile platforms, and Windows desktop applications. It is primarily designed as a functional testing tool for QA engineers to create and reuse automated test scenarios for UI elements like iFrames and pop-ups without coding. One of the distinguishing features of Katalan Studio is that it is available for any stakeholder in your team, irrespective of their programming skills. Its dual editor interface allows non-technical users to create test scenarios using the straightforward UI that does not require coding. While for advanced programmers, there is another interface to write test scripts with syntax highlighting, debugging, and code suggestions.

You can use this QA automation tool on any operating system, including Windows, Linux, and Mac OS. It is also compatible with the most commonly used continuous testing tools like Git, Jenkins, Jira, and Docker integrations.

5. IBM Rational Functional Tester (RFT)

The association with a well-known brand is not the only USP of IBM Rational Functional Tester. It is a web automation tool written purely in Java and is one of the best QA automation tools for teams that develop their products in Java, .Net, or C#.

IBM Rational Functional Tester is a serious testing tool that allows you to write test cases for manual and automated testing. It is a quality assurance tool that you can use for enterprise applications. Like other QA automation tools on the list, it also allows test visualization and editing using rendered screenshots. It provides intelligent script maintenance capabilities to enable straightforward functional and regression testing automation. Development teams can use this QA testing tool with other platforms like Jenkins, Apache Maven, and QuickTest.

Conclusion

As important as the code quality of an application is, quality assurance is no less. We hope the QA automation tools listed here will help you create comprehensive testing scenarios to launch high-quality products.

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4 key principles of test automation

Posted on September 28, 2022 by supriya

Testing is an integral part of the software development lifecycle. No software can be deployed without thorough tests. Quality Assurance or QA testing is essential in software development to ensure that the code performs the function it is supposed to.

Tests can be manual or automated in software engineering. Manual testing is a resource-intensive approach that demands QA testers to create test cases or even deliberately introduce bugs in the code to evaluate the effect. It’s similar to crash testing in the automobile industry. Manual software testing is complicated and expensive, so it is often reserved for the end of the production cycle. However, testing a product at the end of production can delay the product launch by months.

A better alternative is automated software testing that allows developers to run tests as often as they want without exerting high costs. The initial investment in automation testing is writing test automation cases. There are several benefits of test automation apart from frequent testing. It gives developers continuous feedback to spot bugs and errors early on. Automated software testing improves design, code quality, and timely launches.

Principles of test automation

Test automation can be achieved in several ways, but developers must understand a few fundamental underlying principles. Familiarity with these key test automation principles will make you a better QA tester.

Entire books have been written exclusively on the topic of test automation. It’s a skill every developer needs to master at some point, and it’s better to do it sooner rather than later.

1. Test automation improves the quality

Code quality is paramount and signifies a product that can be trusted. Several metrics measure code quality in the software industry, including code coverage, number of defects, CI error rate, readability, maintainability, and test failure. Still, none of these can completely define code test quality and only provide an idea about some aspect of the code.

Test automation must improve quality. It is the primary principle of designing automated test cases. With every iteration, tests must be able to find defects before they can reach production, inform developers of underlying loopholes, and check any deviations in the system behaviour. Successful test cases show a high-level view of a project, allowing developers to try different approaches for the same functionality to find the one that works best.

2. QA testing reduces risk

Human reviewers cannot find every error within the code, no matter how many eyes go through the same code. Code review is necessary and productive, but it must be reliable too.

Another essential principle of test automation is that it reliably finds errors. Automate test cases and check the code from top to bottom comprehensively. By progressively running tests to find errors and bugs, find regressions, and check device and environment compatibility, you can bring down the risks and cost through test automation. QA testing is mandatory to ensure no risks or discrepancies exist in the code, even when the most proficient developers work on a project. Programmers might not make a mistake, but using third-party dependencies did not introduce any errors or pose a risk to the integrity of the application. Test automation can evaluate every line of code to ensure no risk.

3. Be mindful of subtle design changes that test scripts can miss

When writing test case scripts, QA engineers often focus on testing the new functionality implemented in the software but overlook the design changes. For test automation, while creating test scripts, you must proactively anticipate any design changes that might result from code changes. For instance, an update of the application code can improve its functionality. However, it can introduce colour changes in the interface that test scripts might not check if you have not included a condition to review display changes. While not a critical error, it indicates that the test automation is not entirely reliable.

4. Test automation should require low maintenance

Developers are focused on writing concise code to create products that deliver excellent customer experience and perform as expected. Test automation ensures they can work on writing code rather than fretting over repeated testing. As a QA tester, you should focus on writing test scripts that are easy to execute and maintain.

Any reliable and practical test suite will require periodic maintenance to keep it in good shape for repeated use. Here are a few tips for writing and maintaining test cases:

Tests should be enough to be effective, not more. If you notice that with a small change, test cases are breaking, you might be using too many tests and need to remove a few.

Choose the proper test depending on the situation. For instance, unit tests are laser-focused and can be deployed faster, while UI tests are comprehensive and use a lot more resources. Healthy test automation follows the test pyramid approach.

Keep tests reliable and avoid flaky tests; otherwise, your test suite can waste time and create frustration. Flaky tests fail even when the code is correct or show an error for no apparent reason.

Conclusion

Developers who think precise testing is expensive are unaware of the cost of poorly tested code. Bugs and defects in a product can quickly spiral out of control, and practical test automation is the only way to ensure it never happens. QA engineers should consider the top QA testing trends when writing test cases.

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Necessary QA testing checklists

Posted on September 28, 2022September 28, 2022 by supriya

QA testing is essential for releasing higher-quality products, but it also ensures that the skills and resources at an organization are reliable. With successful QA testing, software development teams can ensure that they are creating products best to their potential.

A comprehensive quality assurance process has not only technical aspects but also a balance between the communication and workflows of both internal and external teams. We have created this QA testing checklist to help you with the entire QA testing process.

1. Project scope review

Every QA testing project begins with a comprehensive internal assessment of the scope and requirements of the QA process. Before starting, you must know the project parameters critical for quality assurance. Usually, you must know what elements of the testing can be automated and cannot be automated, the languages, platforms, and devices that the application needs to be tested for, and the role of each QA tester. The aim here is to properly evaluate the requirements of the QA testing and its scope to ensure it offers the maximum ROI. Project scope review also lets you anticipate the collaborative efforts needed for transparent communication.

2. Resource planning meet

QA testers, development engineers, and other stakeholders must know the testing phase’s purpose, needs, requirements, and execution plan. At this stage, you decide what test frameworks, tools, and types of QA testing will be implemented. Furthermore, the communication protocols between the internal and external teams are established during the kick-off meeting.

The balance between automated and manual testing is also determined at this step. You decide how these tests will be deployed and which component or segment of the software will be tested. When all the stakeholders agree to the shared set of metrics, you can move to the next stage, the framework design for QA testing.

3. Framework design

As a QA tester, you must have the expertise and skills to anticipate the test requirements. You will be responsible for not only selecting the tools and technologies but also designing the use scenarios and reporting processes to create a framework based on the specific requirement of the product to be tested.

The framework you will design must consider the development environment. Some critical questions to ask at this step are:

Whether you will employ a keyword-driven, data-driven, behavior-driven, or modular test framework for QA testing?
How much of the framework will be dedicated to automated testing?
How frequently will you run automated tests?
What kind of reporting mechanism will the framework utilize?
What extent of involvement will be required from developers, engineers, and other stakeholders?

Your QA testing framework architecture must address all these questions to be effective.

4. Selecting the right tools

QA test cases are designed depending on the technologies that are used to build an application and the complexity of the design. The right tools for QA testing for a particular product depend on these factors. QA engineers are tasked with selecting the right tools from the range of open-source and paid testing tools available on the market.

QA testers must pick the tools that best suit an application for the QA process to be effective. Any tool you select must have a balance of:

Platform compatibility
Versatility
Ease of maintenance
Automation scope
QA test report generation

Also, you must measure the tool’s value against the cost of licensing and support. It will help you keep the QA testing budget under check. For an efficient software testing process, test cases and defects management tools must be selected after thorough research.

5. Types of QA testing

With multiple QA testing types available, you have to select the one that tests the given software product at the highest standards. One of the dominant software testing methodologies is Agile QA testing, which requires more than one specialized QA tester to work on the testing project to produce efficiency in the process. Among the available options for QA testing, you have to choose one or more of these options:

Manual testing: It requires a human tester who emulates the role of the end-user
Automation testing: It dominantly uses test scripts that automate manual testing. Automation testing is much faster.
API testing: It is aimed at testing the functionality and reliability of programming interfaces

Learn more about QA testing trends and types here.

These three tests carry the bulk of the QA testing role. But, in some cases, you may also have to include security, performance, and accessibility testing.

Conclusion

We are sure that this QA testing checklist will assist you at every step, from initial internal planning to the final stages of test execution. As a QA tester, you must keep this checklist handy to ensure the quicker release of software products.

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