Manual testing is a type of software testing in which test cases are executed manually by a tester without using any automated tools. The purpose of manual testing is to identify bugs, issues, and defects in the software application. Testers play the role of end users and use most of the applications features to ensure correct behavior. They follow a written test plan that leads them through a set of important test cases to guarantee the completeness of testing.
The key concepts of manual testing are:
- Ensuring that the application is error-free and working in conformance to the specified functional requirements.
- Designing test suites or cases during the testing phase with 100% test coverage.
- Verifying the actual behavior of the software against the expected behavior, and reporting any differences as bugs.
Manual testing is a vital part of user-friendly software development because humans are involved in testing. It is essential for gaining deeper insight into the application's performance from an end user's perspective. Manual testing can detect both visible and hidden bugs in the software, and the difference between the actual output and the expected output is called a bug.
