When you move forward in the development of your application or website, one question never stops growing in importance in the online publication approach: « what is the best way to test my product? »
Two possibilities: the automated test or the manual test. Let’s look at the difference.
Automated tests are performed with the help of tools, algorithms and software that analyze your product on specific paths. Thus to locate bugs, they compare the obtained results with those normally expected.
Engaging in this type of test involves the prediction of the creation of scripts that will manage the procedure ahead of time.
Advantage: the scripts can be reused for testing your product later
Disadvantage: it involves time and cost
When manual testing, it’s a person, an experienced tester, who will browse through your product. He will use it the way your future user will.
Manual tests can be conducted in two different ways:
Advantage : Unlike automated testing, manual testing allows you to test the UI (user interface) and UX (user experience) of your product: the correct text display, links and images. This allows you to detect bugs that would be visible to your users but that a robot would not be able to catch.
Disadvantage: Manual tests cannot be replicated as easily as the automated tests.
All websites and applications must be understandable by both the machine and the user. In this, automated and manual testing are two complimentary approaches ... and a combination of both methods is often very effective.
The automated test is an interesting option when you know that the cost associated with the creation of scripts is compensated by the efficacy you gain in the long run. Once established, it can be executed quickly and replicated many times.
Today, UX is crucial for determining the quality of a product and facilitating recurrent use. Since the manual test can catch bugs that only a person can detect, it will help you increase your chances to offer your users an optimal experience.
Learn more about StarDust manual testing