THE LIST – Manual Testing Best Practices

For those familiar to the world of Manual Testing it is no surprise that the most common accusation against it is that it is time consuming. There are many supposed “downfalls” to Manual Testing which includes the cost being too pricey, the tests not scaling well, and the process being very slow.

Good for you I have a few tips and tricks to help overcome those “downfalls” and have a much more pleasant and efficient experience using Manual Testing Best Practices:

1. Detail of Test Design

Like all important things in life, the devil is in the details. This is especially true for the tech world where designs and plans can never have too much detail. No matter the type of testing being carried out (functional or regression testing are two examples), it is essential to have a thorough test design before the manual testing occurs.

2. Automated and Manual

Organization is key to completing projects smoothly. To avoid confusion and maintain an effective work area, it is best to designate what goes under Automated Testing and what you should use as Manual Testing practices.

Do not mix these two if your business/company/etc.  Find out more about Test Automation Vs Manual Testing.

3. Budgeting

Just like there is a budget set for software development or another area within the company, there should be a budget set for Manual Testing practices. The budget should, obviously, be well funded since it takes a lot of workers to carry out the testing.

Someone should be in charge of managing this budget and determining how much is spent and if any investment profit is being made.

4. Documenting

Documentation helps ensure the reproduction of testing scenarios and also helps other developers and testers expand on the test cases. Documentation is helpful in regards to finding errors and figuring out what does or does not work.

Testers should document (in detail) every test case with the results and/or their feedback in regards to the test. This can be very time consuming but once the tester becomes familiar with the process it should cut the time in half.

Manual Testing Best Practices can be very helpful if done correctly and when following some basic tips that make the whole process smoother. Always have a detailed test design, separate your areas when dealing with automatic and manual testing, create a budget plan specifically for manual testing, and document each test case in detail. These are the best practices to ensure a smooth operation.