There are generally two ways of testing software applications. It can either be automated testing or manual testing. Regardless of the method used for the testing, each process is vital for bug detection and fixation. Automated testing is different from manual testing in various ways.
The biggest difference between the two is who executes the test case. In manual testing, a human tester does it. In automated testing, tools do it. Manual testing is time-consuming and less efficient, while automated testing is relatively more time-efficient and has greater efficiency.
Automation testing techniques lead to increased test coverage, while it’s difficult to achieve greater test coverage with manual testing techniques. Most of the tasks performed through manual testing are entirely manual tasks.
In contrast, the number of tasks that can be automated with even real user simulation is high in automated testing.
Here are ten reasons you should choose software automated testing over manual testing.
Saves Time and Money
Software testing is a continuous process. Every time you modify a code, you have to test it across different configurations to ensure that it doesn’t affect the system’s overall functionality.
With automated testing, you will need very little effort to carry out so many tasks as most of the processes are carried out with automation tools. This saves time and leads to lower costs for the various testing processes.
It’s Easier to Achieve Continuous Testing
Every company’s goal is to achieve continuous testing with its software application testing process. Continuous testing is the uninterrupted running of tests to get instant feedback.
It enables the testers supervising the testing processes to work cohesively. So, you can easily implement shift-left testing for your software application.
Reusability of Test Scripts
When using the manual testing approach, you will have to create test scripts most of the time. Just imagine testing every bit of the software product to check when the new features added have affected their functionality.
Writing test scripts and running lots of time takes a lot of time, and it’s a nightmare for most testers.
You will Get Faster Feedback
Another reason you should choose automated testing over manual testing is the benefit of instant feedback. Instant feedback among the team members greatly ensures that the testers deliver quality and great customer experience through the software product.
The faster the feedback, the faster the bug fixing process. If your product is already in the market, you can test it on the go without interfering with the customer experience.
Automated Testing Improves the Team’s Morale
While the team’s morale may seem like an intangible parameter to access, the automated testing results are mostly invaluable. Automation processes take over most of the repetitive tasks in the organization, and this frees testers to do other tasks that are less repetitive.
Here, there is more time to focus on other test cases that have not been run and check whether there is something that has been left out.
Increased Test Coverage
Your complex software application requires a large team of testers and a relatively higher amount of time to conduct the end-to-end testing.
With automated testing, when testing applications that require no code, you can test applications of any size within a very short period. This implies that you have covered more features across the various applications and configurations.
Relatively High Accuracy
The expertise level of your testers determines how thoroughly the software application will be tested. Automated testing is implemented more accurately as it removes the dependency on different parameters and delivers the results on time.
Unlike manual testing, there is very little chance of error occurrence in the automated testing process, leading to relatively high accuracy in the results.
Better Information Security
The testing process broadly defines how effective the software testing process will be. Most tools used for automated testing are built with security features that ensure that the data you are testing is safe from unauthorized access.
Testing software products manually takes time when dealing with copies of live databases. There is a high possibility that the data can leak, which poses a potential threat to the company.
Better Reporting Systems
Reporting is key in the software testing process. Delayed reports will result in poor testing as there is no proper coordination. Manual reporting is cumbersome.
The testers have to update the number of test scripts manually and include the number of bugs fixed. With automated testing, there are better reporting systems.
Automated Testing Offers Scalability
The investment and time needed to scale manual testing processes can impact the delivery timelines of the software product. That means you will have to add more testers to the project. Getting the new hires on board and training them is very time-consuming.
With automated testing, you can scale your activities in minutes. You need to add more test executors to the test automation practices.
Conclusion
The benefits of automated testing over manual testing are numerous. Though, this doesn’t mean that the manual testing is entirely gone. There are test cases where you will still need it.
But if there is a process where automated testing can be applied, ensure you don’t hesitate to do that.
