How to Become A Manual Tester Career Guide: Skills, Roles, & Salary

The article covers various aspects of manual testing, providing a comprehensive overview for aspiring testers and professionals. It starts by defining manual testing as the process of manually inspecting software to identify bugs and defects.Manual testing is essential, especially when automation isn't feasible or for tasks like testing complex UIs and dynamic systems.

What is Manual Testing?

Manual testing is the process of testing software manually to identify bugs, issues, and defects in an application. In manual testing, testers interact with the application under test just like an end user would to verify if all the features are working as expected.

Some key characteristics of manual testing are:

• It is performed manually by human testers without any support from automation tools.
• It involves executing test cases by providing various inputs and verifying the expected and actual results.
• It focuses on functional and system testing of the application.
• Testers need to have expertise in the application domain and type of testing.
• It is time-consuming and labor-intensive but necessary.

Manual testing is an essential component of the overall software testing process and complements automated testing as well. It is especially useful in:

• Testing complex UI flows and table structures.
• Exploratory testing to discover defects.
• Testing dynamically changing systems.
• Validation of fixes for detected defects.
• When automation is not feasible or available.

Types of Manual Testing

There are several types of manual software testing that testers need to be aware of. Here are the major types of manual testing:

1. Functional Testing
2. Usability Testing
3. UI Testing
4. Integration Testing
5. Accessibility Testing
6. Localization Testing
7. Security Testing
8. Compatibility Testing
9. System Testing

Functional Testing

Functional testing evaluates the functionality of an application by testing each functionality and feature against the specified requirements.

Examples of functional testing

Usability Testing

Usability testing evaluates how user-friendly and intuitive the application interface is for users. It focuses on 5 usability factors:

• Learnability - How easy is it for new users to learn the application?
• Efficiency - How quickly can tasks be accomplished?
• Memorability - Is the interface easy to remember even after sometime?
• Errors - What errors do users encounter and how severe are they?
• Satisfaction - How pleasant is it to use the application design?

Examples of usability testing

UI Testing

UI testing involves testing the graphical user interface of an application. It evaluates if UI elements like menus, buttons, icons, checkboxes follow the specifications and function correctly.

Some examples of UI testing are:

Integration Testing

Integration testing verifies if different modules/components integrate correctly and work as expected.

Examples of Intergration Testing

Accessibility Testing

Accessibility testing evaluates how accessible the application is for users with disabilities.

Example of Accessibility Testing:

Localization Testing

Localization testing verifies that the application can be adapted to a specific culture, region, or language.

Example of Localization Testing:

Security Testing

Security testing attempts to identify application vulnerabilities that can lead to security breaches, data leaks, and attacks.

Examples of Security Testing

Compatibility Testing

This testing evaluates whether the software application runs as intended on different:

• Browsers - Chrome, Firefox, Safari
• Operating systems - Windows, Linux, Mac
• Devices - Desktops, tablets, mobile phones
• Screen resolutions and sizes

System Testing

System testing tests the end-to-end workflow of an entire system. The scope is from frontend to backend covering all tiers.

Examples of system testing

This covers the major types of manual testing that testers should be aware of. The key is to identify which types are relevant for your project and focus your efforts there.

Advantages of Manual Testing

While automation is gaining popularity, manual testing still has unique benefits that testers should know:

📌Finds Subjective Defects

📌 Adapts to Dynamic Systems

📌 Tests Complex UI Interactions

📌 Gives Confidence Before Automation

📌 Tests New Features

📌 Provides Feedback About Usability

📌 Reduces Initial Investments

📌 Platform and Technology Independent

📌 Suitable for Small Applications

How to Become a Manual Tester

Here is a step-by-step process to become a professional manual tester:

1. Understand Software Testing Basics
2. Master Manual Testing
3. Choose a Domain
4. Get Some Experience
5. Develop Technical Skills
6. Build Soft Skills
7. Create a Portfolio
8. Get Certifications (optional)
9. Prepare for Interviews
10. Apply for Jobs

With dedication and perseverance, you can become a skilled manual tester within a year or two. All the best! 😊

When Should You Use Manual Testing?

Despite increasing test automation, there are still many situations where manual testing is advised or may be the only choice:

• ✔️ New Feature Testing - Any new functionality should be tested manually first before automating to prevent script maintenance overhead.
• ✔️ Initial Phases Of Testing - Manual exploratory testing helps get an overall perspective before automating end-to-end scenarios.
• ✔️ UI and Navigation Testing - Automation may not replicate all UI behaviors correctly so manual verification is required.
• ✔️ Complex Test Scenarios - Test cases with complex conditional logic are challenging to automate compared to manual testing.
• ✔️ Test Environments Unstable - If test environments change frequently, maintaining automation scripts can be difficult compared to flexible manual testing.
• ✔️ Agile Projects - With iterative development, it may be preferable to manually test new features added in each sprint rather than continually update automation scripts.
• ✔️ Small Applications - For apps with few test cases, automation overhead may not justify time required compared to quick manual testing.
• ✔️ Testing Intermittent Issues - Some bugs are intermittent so manually replicating steps may be required for defects that automation cannot recreate consistently.
• ✔️ Usability Testing - Real user feedback can only be obtained by manual testing and not automation scripts.
• ✔️ Resource and Budget Constraints - Automation requires significant initial investment which may not be feasible so manual testing would be the way to go.

Important Manual Testing Concepts

There are some key testing concepts that every tester should be familiar with to excel at manual testing:

1. Test Scenarios vs Test Cases

Test scenarios describe what needs to be tested at a high level. Test cases detail the step by step process to execute the test.

For example, a test scenario would be "Validate password field validations". The test cases would be:

• Try submitting empty password
• Input password less than 6 characters
• Input password more than 12 characters
• Try special characters in password

2. Positive vs Negative Testing

Positive testing verifies the application works as expected when providing valid inputs and conditions.

Negative testing verifies the application handles invalid data correctly. For example, inputting incorrect password.

3. End-to-End Testing

End-to-end testing mimics a complete user workflow from start to finish through the application. For instance, completing an entire online purchase.

4. Regression Testing

Regression testing verifies existing functionality does not break after new changes or updates to the application.

5. Test Acceptance Criteria

Acceptance criteria specify the requirements that functionality must meet to be accepted and pass the testing.

For example, password field should accept 6 to 12 character passwords.

6. Defect Life Cycle

The defect life cycle consists of the following steps:

1. Defect Discovery
2. Defect Logging
3. Defect Assignment
4. Defect Resolution
5. Retesting Resolved Defect
6. Defect Closure

Skills Required for Manual Testing

Here are some of the key skills that manual testers require to be effective at their job:

Real Life Testing Examples

The best way to learn manual testing is to practice with real life examples. Here are some sample scenarios and examples you can try as practice.

Testing a Login Page

Testing Payment Gateway Integration

Testing Forgot Password

How to Improve Your Manual Testing Skills

• Have complete clarity on requirements and specifications
• Cover all test scenarios with detailed test cases
• Have proper test data ready for testing
• Ensure traceability between tests and requirements
• Employ both positive and negative testing
• Execute tests systematically with attention to detail
• Log defects effectively with steps to reproduce
• Retest fixes properly before closing defects
• Automate redundant test cases where possible
• Re-run regression testing before releases
• Collaborate with team members throughout testing

By mastering these key aspects of manual testing methodology, you will be able to excel in testing roles and help shape the future of companies through high-quality software assurance.

So learn, practice, apply, and let your manual testing career take off! All the best!