The quality and performance of your software products ensure the growth and development of your business. If your products are top-notch, more and more people will choose to use them. If they are not, people will look for alternatives.
As more and more people use smartphones and hand-held devices–to the tune of 5.4 billion– producing the best software is a priority for businesses that want to keep growing.
That’s why quality assurance plays a massive role in software development to ensure that software products meet users’ expectations and deliver value. Businesses use reliable software testing services to ensure their products are top-notch.
There are two types of testing—automation testing and manual testing. However, this blog will discuss the 8 most important aspects of manual testing that enable high-quality and error-free testing.
What Actually Is Manual Testing?
Let’s try to understand what manual testing means in the world of software development before getting into the core topic of this post.
Whenever a new software product is developed, human quality assurance engineers test it for quality and performance. They do not use any tools or equipment for the assessment, and that’s what manual testing is all about.
Manual testing relies on the expertise and intuition of quality assurance engineers. They meticulously examine the software under varying scenarios to identify the following:
- Bugs and errors
- Usability issues
- Performance concerns
- Impact on user experience
Manual testing is a crucial component of a comprehensive quality assurance strategy, as it allows for a nuanced analysis of the product and to detect defects that may be hard to find out.
Related Article: Quality Assurance and Its Role in Successful App Development
How Can You Optimize the Process of Manual Testing?
Manual testing is a massive part of any business’s overall quality assurance strategy. If you outsource your quality assessment, it is essential to understand if the software testing services company you work with has a strategy to elevate the quality of its testing process.
At AddWeb Solution, along with a comprehensive manual testing strategy, we also have a strategy to improve the testing process. This strategy includes the following elements and helps us always cater to our clients’ testing and quality goals.
Use tests with broader coverage.
The more comprehensive the test coverage, the more inclusive and better it becomes. Our experience as a software testing services company has taught us that. To improve the effectiveness of manual testing, it is essential to devise test cases encompassing a wide range of scenarios and usage patterns.
Quality assurance engineers can uncover potential vulnerabilities and unearth hidden defects by covering user interactions, input combinations, and edge cases.
With such comprehensive test coverage, the software testing process becomes more robust, ensuring higher confidence in the system’s performance and stability.
Develop adequate test plans.
Without a strong and viable plan, nothing works in the world of technology. You need to know what you are doing and what you want to make your efforts successful. It is the same case with manual software testing as well.
A well-structured test plan is critical in optimizing the manual testing process. A test plan serves as a roadmap that outlines the testing activities’ objectives, scope, and approach. It includes detailed information about the test environment, test data, and the sequence of test cases to be executed.
By creating comprehensive test plans, you can streamline the testing process, improve efficiency, and ensure all critical aspects of the software are thoroughly examined.
Use test-oriented development techniques.
Many businesses wait for the development cycle to be completed for the quality assessment process to begin. Such an approach is inefficient and time-consuming. At AddWeb Solution, we have a parallel approach to testing the software as it is being developed.
We integrate test-oriented development techniques into the software development lifecycle to yield significant benefits. By involving quality assurance engineers in the early stages of development, it becomes easier for us to understand potential issues that can be identified and addressed proactively.
These test-oriented development techniques, such as Test-Driven Development, help promote a culture of continuous testing and collaboration, enabling quicker and more efficient debugging processes.
Assess the level of the code.
One of the critical aspects of enhancing the effectiveness of manual testing is evaluating the quality of the underlying code. During the testing, quality assurance engineers should conduct code reviews to identify any coding flaws, adherence to coding standards, and potential areas of improvement.
At Add Web Solution, this is a massive part of the overall manual testing strategy. By assessing the code quality, we can understand bug patterns, which helps us design test cases that target specific areas of concern.
This meticulous evaluation helps achieve a higher degree of test coverage and ensures robust software performance. This is also cost-effective for the clients as it decreases development costs and time.
Think creatively for better testing.
We learned This element from our experience as a manual testing services provider over the years. The correct manual testing approach combines analytical thinking and creative problem-solving. At AddWeb Solution, the goal is to identify software defects and improve the product, not just to complete a few pre-determined testing tasks.
Every quality assurance engineer must think beyond conventional test scenarios and explore unusual and uncharted pathways by adopting an exploratory testing approach. If they can simulate real-world user behavior, various overlooked issues can be identified.
The ability to think creatively enhances the effectiveness of manual testing, resulting in a more resilient and user-friendly software product, which is what all businesses need.
Related Article: A Go-to Guide on Automation Testing: All You Need to Know About Test Automation
Keeping track of test cases.
Test cases should be well-documented, including detailed steps, expected results, and any specific data or configurations required. And this is important as maintaining comprehensive documentation of test cases is crucial for efficient manual testing.
Test case management tools can aid in organizing and tracking test cases, ensuring that all test scenarios are covered and executed.
A systematic approach helps quality assurance engineers maintain consistency, traceability, and repeatability in their testing efforts.
Simplify security.
Security is a critical aspect of software testing, and manual testing plays a significant role in identifying potential security vulnerabilities.
Integrate security testing techniques into manual testing processes so that quality assurance engineers can assess the software’s resilience against security threats, such as data breaches, malware attacks, unauthorized access, etc.
With the help of techniques like penetration testing and vulnerability scanning, manual test engineers can strengthen the overall security posture of the software application.
Create detailed and unambiguous bug reports.
Having a reliable and easy-to-understand reporting system is another element that leads to better quality assurance. When quality assurance engineers encounter defects during manual testing, they must report them accurately to the development team. This approach has immensely helped us as a QA consulting agency.
A well-crafted bug report should provide precise and concise information about the encountered issue, including detailed reproducing steps, screenshots or logs, and any relevant supporting data. With comprehensive bug reports, testers assist developers in understanding the problem, expediting the debugging process, and resolving the issues more effectively.
Conclusion
Although automation testing is essential for businesses to carry out quick and uniform tests, manual testing enables them to discover the defects they miss. Hence, a solid manual testing strategy is crucial for all businesses. Even more important is to plan and develop a manual testing process that can bring top-notch testing results and ensure the quality of the application or software. And keeping these 8 factors we have discussed can make a huge difference. If you are a business person looking for a quality assurance company to hire software testers with expertise and experience, AddWeb Solution is your best pick.
AddWeb Solution helped some of the most respected brands in the world with our manual testing services to make their software products even better and more user-friendly. We always create unique manual testing strategies for our clients based on their requirements and the nature of the software. This has enabled us to deliver our clients quick and all-encompassing testing services.
You can speak to our client support team to learn more about our manual testing services and how you can hire software testers with expertise and industry insights.
