Manual Testing

Manual testing is a type of software testing where test cases are executed manually by a tester without using any automation tools. It’s one of the most fundamental testing methods and is usually the first step in the testing process before moving to automation. Here’s a quick overview:

🔍 What is Manual Testing?

Manual testing involves the tester playing the role of an end user and using most of the application’s features to ensure correct behavior.

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✅ Why Manual Testing?

• Exploratory Testing: Great for cases where the tester’s creativity and experience is key.

• Usability Testing: Helps gauge how user-friendly the application is.

• Short-term Projects: Automation might not be worth the investment.

• Initial Testing Phases: Before features stabilize for automation.

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🛠️ Types of Manual Testing:

1. Smoke Testing – Basic tests to check if the build is stable.

2. Sanity Testing – Verifying specific functionalities after minor changes.

3. Regression Testing – Ensuring new updates don’t break existing features.

4. Integration Testing – Testing how modules interact.

5. System Testing – End-to-end testing of the application.

6. User Acceptance Testing (UAT) – Validating the product with user expectations.

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📋 Steps in Manual Testing:

1. Understand requirements.

2. Write test cases/test scenarios.

3. Review and approve test cases.

4. Execute test cases.

5. Log defects/bugs.

6. Retest and close bugs.

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🔧 Tools Commonly Used (for test management, not automation):

• JIRA (with Xray, Zephyr)

• TestRail

• Bugzilla

• HP ALM