The Switch from Automated to Manual Testing

Around twenty years ago, the buzzword in the world of software testing was “automation”. Everyone was talking about it, even those were not working in that field. We were told that within ten years our jobs as manual software testers would be obsolete. While, for several years we did see a sharp incline in the use of test automation and the demand for those who could automate test cases, it never actually overshadowed manual testing.

In recent years, test automation has become very popular for regression testing. This is because of the idea that with a single click hundreds of test cases can be run within a very short period of time, providing valuable quick feedback as to the quality of the software under test. While this is essentially true, the overall amount of time it takes to initially create the automated test cases, and subsequently maintain them, often does not make test automation more cost effective than manual testing. Yes, test execution time for for automated testing may be quicker, but the longer test execution time for manual testing can be reduced exponentially by adding additional testers to the task.

Today, the industry is now seeing a definite shift from test automation to manual testing. One of the key factors for this is the actual quality of the testing being performed. Automated tests can only detect a certain amount of defects, regardless of how well they are written. If a QA team consists of high-skilled Testers, then manual testing will easily win on the quality front. The key to the overriding success of manual testing for regression testing(or functional testing for that matter) is ensuring the same testers are used throughout the software development lifecycle. When a manual tester is performing their testing, defects will more likely “pop out” in front of them, as they know the product well. An automated test cannot easily distinguish if a wrong image was used, some text is overlapped for example.

The thinking now about automated tests is that yes, they may appear to be quicker to execute, but the quality level can only reach a certain level. As most companies find themselves in highly competitive marketplaces, their associated websites and mobile apps must stand out from their competitors as the end user can easily switch to another in a single click.