Tuesday 27 December 2022

What are the 9 principles of manual testing?

An effective test strategy can be created with the help of test principles and error-catching test cases can be properly drafted. Testers can learn and use these testing principles to leverage software testing activities and thus enhance the overall performance of the Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC). The testing team should put in the required efforts to understand these principles from a pragmatic standpoint. In this article, you will get to know the nine principles of manual testing. 

Following are the nine principles of manual testing:

1. Defect clustering: Most of the defects that are being detected are contained in a small number of modules. The Pareto principle is applied to software testing, which means around 80% of the issues are found in 20% of the modules. Such risky modules can be identified. If the tests are repeated continually then new bugs would not be identified in the same test cases.


2. There is no possibility of exhaustive testing: Based on the risk assessment of the application, the optimal amount of testing can be analyzed. It is highly impossible to test everything with all possible combinations of conditions and inputs. Manual testing should be done strategically and if need be required manual testing tools can be used.


3. Pesticide paradox: When the same set of repetitive tests are performed over and over again, then eventually it would be difficult to discover new defects. To overcome this scenario, test cases should be habitually revised and reviewed.   


4. Defects are presented: The chances of undiscovered defects in the software application are reduced through the strategic application of manual testing. Upon that, the team can also leverage manual testing tools. If the defects are not found, that means there might be a lack in correctness. 


5. The nonappearance of errors is a misconception: There might be instances where a software application might be bug-free and is still unusable. This can happen in specific scenarios where the system is tested thoroughly for requirement which is not in line with business and client-specific requirements. Just finding the defects won’t fetch anything of value to the testing team. The team should be well aware of the client and business-specific needs. 


6. Testing early can prove to be beneficial: The software testing process should be initiated right from the initial stages of the Software Development Life Cycle process. So, if there are any defects in the design and requirements phase, it can be captured early. Fixing defects in the earlier stages of software development would be cheaper. 


7. The value of context-dependent: The meaning of evaluating software testing from a context-dependent perspective means that testing a commercial off-the-shelf application can be different from testing an e-commerce portal. There is no similarity between all the developed software. The team might use a different technique, methodology, approach and type of testing depending on the application type.


8. Preventing defects: The quality of the product is improved by preventing defects. Those defects that might have been skipped can be identified and fixed if the software testing strategy is well-defined and the testing team can carry out their work in accordance with the testing plan.


9. The necessity of automation: Automation testing is a broad aspect of testing. It requires meticulous planning, evaluation and training to carry out the testing activities productively. Automation testing is considered to be ideal when there are repetitive tasks that can be automated, which in turn saves a lot of effort and time for the testing team. Accuracy of testing is also one of the key benefits of automation.  


Conclusion: If you are looking forward to implementing manual testing or automation testing or both for your specific project, then do get connected with a globally renowned software testing services company that will provide you with feasible testing solutions that are in line with your project specific requirements.

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