Comparison of Testing Types
Manual testing will be used when the test case Automation testing will be used when there is
only needs to run once or twice.
need to execute the set of test cases repeatedly.
Manual testing will be very useful while
Automation testing will be very useful to catch
executing test cases first time & may or may not regressions in a timely manner when the code
be powerful to catch the regression defects
frequently changes.
under frequently changing requirements.
Manual testing is less reliable. Using manual
Automation tests will help perform the same
software testing may not perform test case
operation precisely each time.
execution with same precision every time.
Simultaneously testing on different machine
Automation testing will be carried out
with different OS platform combination is not simultaneously on different machine with
possible using manual testing. To execute such different OS platform combination.
task separate testers are required.
To execute the test cases every time tester
Once Automation test suites are ready then less
requires the same amount of time.
testers are required to execute the test cases.
No programming can be done to write
Using Automation testing, Testers can program
sophisticated tests which fetch hidden
complicated tests to bring out of sight
information.
information.
Manual testing is slower than automation.
Automation runs test cases significantly faster
Running tests manually can be very time
than human resources.
consuming.
Manual testing requires less cost than
Initial cost to automate is more than manual
automating it.
testing but can be used repeatedly.
It is preferable to execute UI test cases using
Sometimes we can’t automate the UI test cases
manual testing.
using automation testing.
To execute the Build Verification Testing
Automation testing is very useful for automating
(BVT) is very mundane and tiresome in Manual the Build Verification Testing (BVT) & it is not
testing.
mundane and tiresome.

Manual Testing
Automation Testing
1. Time consuming and tedious: Since test cases
1. Fast Automation runs test cases significantly faster
are executed by human resources so it is very slow
than human resources.
and tedious.
2. Huge investment in human resources: As test
cases need to be executed manually so more
testers are required in manual testing.
2. Less investment in human resources:Test cases
are executed by using automation tool so less tester
are required in automation testing.
3. Less reliable: Manual testing is less reliable as
tests may not be performed with precision each
time because of human errors.
3. More reliable: Automation tests perform precisely
same operation each time they are run.
4. Non-programmable: No programming can be
done to write sophisticated tests which fetch
hidden information.
4. Programmable: Testers can program sophisticated
tests to bring out hidden information.
What is Automation Testing
Using Automation tools to write and execute test cases is known as automation testing. No
manual intervention is required while executing an automated test suite.
Testers write test scripts and test cases using the automation tool and then group into test suites.
Benefits of Automation Testing
•
•
Reduction of repetitive work.
Repeatability
•
Greater consistency
•
Ease of access of information about tests or testing
Advantages of Automation
Posted in Automation
Tags: Automation Advantages, Software Testing, Test Automation

You would have tested software applications or web applications manually, so you might be
aware of the drawbacks of manual testing. Manual testing is time consuming, tedious and
requires heavy investment in human resources.
Time constraints often make it impossible to manually test every feature thoroughly before
software application or web application is to be released. This leaves you wondering whether
serious defects have been detected or not.
To address all these issues automation testing is done, you can create tests that check all aspects
of the software applications and then execute these test cases every time any changes are made in
software application.
Benefits of Automation Testing
•
•
Fast: Runs tests significantly faster than human users.
Repeatable: Testers can test how the website or software reacts after repeated execution of the
same operation.
•
Reusable: Tests can be re-used on different versions of the software.
•
Reliable: Tests perform precisely the same operation each time they are run thereby eliminating
human error.
•
Comprehensive: Testers can build test suites of tests that covers every feature in software
software application.
•
Programmable: Testers can program sophisticated tests that bring hidden
information.
When to automate Software Testing
Being a software tester you might have come across various situations where automation is not
advantageous at all and manual testing works better in those situations.
Some examples where manual testing is preferred over automation are:
•
•
UI keeps on changing very frequently. If automation is done for this UI it needs to be
changed every time the UI is changed.
You have a tight deadline to release the software and so there is very less time to
automate so you will prefer to do manual testing and release the software.
So you can see that automation does not solve the problem always, however there are certain
situations where automation is very helpful for quality software delivery. Some of the examples
where automation is helpful are as follows:

•
•
Regression testing: Automation is very helpful in regression testing because the
regression test suite needs to be executed every time there is some defect fix to find out
that no new issue has been introduced due to that fix. So regression test suite is the best
candidate for automation.
Automation supports Agile testing and eXtreme programming: In Agile development
there are time boxed iterations of usually 2-3 weeks in which a working software is
developed, in each iteration some new features are incorporated which requires full
testing of the software, in such situation automation helps to test the whole software in
each sprint.
•
Automation provides rapid feedback to developers during the software development
process: Automation does continuous integration and nightly builds which provides daily
feedback to developers if anything breaks in nightly build.
•
Automation is also helpful where there are large number of iterations of test case
execution.
•
Automation helps to find out the defects missed by manual testing.