10 Key Reasons Why Manual Testing is Important in Modern Software Development

The end user’s perspective on software quality and functionality matters because they will be the actual users after the release. Manual testing allows you to experience and use the software as an end user. If the experience is not good for any reason, it means the software needs corrections. Hence, manual testing is critical to testing the quality and functionality of the software. 

This blog here explores the reasons why manual testing is important in modern software development. 

10 Key Reasons Why Manual Testing is Important

1. High-level accuracy

When you have test cases, automated testing makes sense. However manual testing becomes more logical to examine the software behavior when in the hands of an end user. 

Humans have a creative mindset and the ability to detect patterns and guess errors. Therefore, it is easier for humans to identify abnormal behavior in the software and make corrections immediately. This is because humans can add context and software nuances to a product, which is impossible in automated testing. So, manual testing results in high-level accuracy. 

2. Actual user experience testing

Manual testing is the way to go when you have to test how the user feels while using the software. It facilitates knowledge of the negatives and positives of the software in the following aspects:

• How the features are
• Whether the software fulfills the functionalities per development specifications
• How does it look
• Whether the workflow is logical and easy to understand

Manual testing allows you to learn human opinions, insights, and suggestions. It allows you to see the software from the user’s perspective. It tells you how they feel about using it and the challenges they face during their software interaction. So, in a way, manual testing tests the actual user experience, and the manual testing types help with it, while automated testing creates scripts based on these scenarios and then checks the results. 

3. Time-saving

In the case of automated testing, you need to set up an infrastructure, prepare test cases, and then manage the testing. Though the execution is faster and requires less effort from the input side, setting it is time-consuming. This is not the case in manual testing. 

Manual testing is a time-saving technique for testing your software’s quality, performance, and security. You just have to pass it on to the tester after every stage of functionality development for testing. The testing process starts then and there, and the output is delivered after completion. Especially in the case of complex software, manual testing saves time and effort in executing testing procedures. 

4. Accessibility and usability examination

Automated testing checks the software on all physical features and functionalities. But you can’t test whether users with diverse disabilities can use it with the same ease. Or if the design is attractive enough to hold all kinds of users’ interests. Or if every user finds it easy to navigate through the software. 

You can manage all these with manual testing, whether it’s:

• The design of the software application
• Its accessibility to a diverse user base
• The flow of interactions with the user

These aspects examine whether users of different types of disabilities can use the software, how they interact with it, and the challenges they face in such interactions. Thus, manual testing is a human-centric approach to making the software interactive, inclusive, and positive. 

5. Flexible

Once the application is developed completely, it is stable. You can create an automated testing environment with cases and scenarios and check the software’s quality and performance. Automated testing requires you to arrange for test cases repeatedly, wasting time and resources.

Manual testing is a blessing in the face of rapidly evolving software development. In an environment where requirements change frequently, and project dynamics evolve, manual testing offers the flexibility to test the software in real time. This adaptability empowers you to test the apps manually on the go as and when updates occur, ensuring the software’s quality remains intact.

6. Cost-effective

Cost is a significant factor that companies focus on while developing an application. The cost must not exceed the budget and provide an enhanced value to enable higher earnings. 

If you have fewer resources or less time, you can manually manage the software’s testing. Moreover, you can ask your friends, colleagues, or family to use the software as a tester; no need for prerequisites or certifications. This means no extra investment in resources to manage the testing. 

On the other hand, automated testing requires spending money on infrastructure, tools, technologies, and scripting. Thus, manual testing is more cost-effective than automated, allowing efficient and effective resource management. 

7. Quick bug fixing

Since manual testing is exploratory, it can detect errors you don’t even know exist. Maybe the bugs are hidden, the navigation is unexplored, or there is no way to write the test script for usability; in all such cases, manual testing works. 

Human testers can use the software to identify the problem on the spot. Such immediate detection allows you to correct the problems right away. This is how your iterative development process runs at speed, and you can complete the software development faster with a guarantee of its functionality, security, and performance. 

8. Better understanding of customer needs

Manual testing involves a subjective assessment of the software in different aspects. Since humans test it, it gives a more realistic picture of whether it satisfies the needs it was developed for. Thus, you can get into the users’ shoes to better understand their needs and preferences.

Manual testers understand human behavior – their wants, expectations, and preferences. Based on this, they test the software, identify the flaws, report, and get the corrections done. So, manual testing allows a complete understanding of customer needs and provides insights into the software’s missing features after testing. Thus, it covers all scenarios, even the ones you couldn’t think of, making it more comprehensive and exhaustive. 

9. Comprehensive reporting

In automated testing, reporting includes a YES or NO if the feature or functionality is present or absent, respectively. It answers the test scenarios created before the testing process and generates a report. 

But with manual testing, you get detailed reporting on the following:

• Missing or wrong features or capabilities that need improvement
• Excellent aspects of the software that you must have for it to become successful
• The overall performance
• User experience

Such comprehensive reporting allows improvements in your development process, resulting in better software outcomes. 

10. Complex scenario management

Automated testing works when scenarios repeat. Test engineers create test cases and feed them into the system for software testing. The system checks the new software only on these pre-defined test cases and generates outcomes. If the software is complicated or has defects other than the written test scripts, automated testing doesn’t test these cases. 

Manual testing becomes handy when checking complicated software for which you cannot develop test cases. As and when developers add new features, you can do exploratory testing manually and decide on the spot whether to keep it. 

It also tests the skills of manual testers in understanding the intricate scenarios specific to their business domain and inspecting the software quality and performance. Thus, you can be creative and intuitive with manual testing services and inspect complex user interactions, system-integrated scenarios, and unexpected user flows. 

Conclusion

After knowing the key reasons why manual testing is important, it’s understandable that it is not going anywhere. Automated testing will not replace it. But there are a few scenarios where manual testing is better – small-scope projects, exploratory analysis, usability checking, visual assessment, situations requiring human intuition, and initial-stage feature testing. 

The ideal solution is to combine automated and manual testing to generate better outcomes for software improvement, resulting in increased adoption. And this is how you can have a balanced testing strategy in the software development lifecycle.