Advantages and Disadvantages of Manual Testing
Last Updated : 06 Jun, 2025
Manual Testing plays an important role in providing high-quality bug-free applications to users. It is also an essential part of the development cycle. Now, in the dynamic landscape with the rise of technology, automated testing has been used.
Manual testing is an important aspect of the quality assurance process. It involves hands-on operations on software applications which help in detecting bugs and issues. Which automated testing may miss. In this article, we will understand about the manual testing, Its advantages, and disadvantages.
What is Manual Testing
Manual testing is a technique to test the software that is carried out using the functions and features of an application. In manual software testing, a tester tests the software by following predefined test cases. In this testing, testers make test cases for the code, test the software, and give the final report about that software. Manual testing is time-consuming because it is done by humans, and there is a chance of human error.
Every new application must be manually tested before its testing can be automated. Manual Testing requires more effort than automation testing but is necessary to check automation feasibility. There is no requirement for knowledge of any testing tool in manual testing.
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Advantages of Manual Testing
Manual testing offers several benefits that make it important in particularly for projects requiring flexibility, human insight, and cost-effectiveness.
Here are mentioned advantages of manual testing:
- Flexibility and adaptability- Manual testing is highly flexible and is suitable for dynamic projects where requirements may change. If any changes are made human testers can frequently adapt to these changes & scenarios and judge according to new features or changes. But in automated testing, we need to change the whole script and reprogram the tool in case any changes are required.
- Cost-effectiveness- In small-scale projects where you cannot afford automatic testing then manual testing can be more cost-effective because it requires human testers and test the application based on several cases without the requirement of many tools or frameworks. It is highly, beneficial for small businesses.
- Human judgment and Intuition- Manual testing is controlled by humans. So humans can use their intuition and experience to explore the software in multiple ways. Which automated tests cannot. They will test the application based on their decided criteria. This human touch element is very important for understanding how the user will feel while using the application. Humans can access various aspects such as usability, user experience, and subjective aspects.
- Immediate feedback- Manual testing is simple and it allows immediate feedback the the test tester on new features and bug fixes of the application. Testers can access the application, check for the impact of changes, and directly provide insights to the developers. Which will ease the development process. Also, manual testers can identify. Defects in the developmental cycle. This will help in uncovering the bugs. Which are missed by automated tests and ensuring a smoother and more reliable experience.
- Test case diversity- In automated, testing the test cases are pre-decided and the application is checked satisfied based on those cases. But in manual testing testers get the freedom to design their test cases, boundary conditions, and negative scenarios that may not be easily automated. This provides more comprehensive test coverage and validates software under various conditions.
Disadvantages of Manual Testing
Manual testing offers the above mentioned benefits, but it also comes with disadvantages which can impact efficiency and consistency of the development of the software.
Here are mentioned dis-advantages of manual testing:
- Subjectivity- The result of the manual testing depends on the perspective of the human tester who is testing the application because the perceptions and interceptions of developers, and testers may vary. Which can affect the consistency of outcomes.
- Less reliable: Manual testing is less reliable as it does not provide testing on all aspects of testing.
- Can not be reused: There is a need to develop separate test cases for each new software.
- Not reusable- The test cases created for manual testing apply to a specific version of software, but when the updates are made these test cases will become unusable and need to be rewritten. Which does not seem to be an effective use of resources and can lead increase the time. thus slowing the development process.
- Needs experience: The tester needs to know the application well. They develop test cases based on their experience, there is no proof that all the functions are covered or not.
Conclusion
Hence, manual testing remains an important part of software development and quality assurance. Automatic. Automated testing has been rising with time but due to the human element manual testing will remain irreplaceable. Human testers can empathize with the end users, and provide insights about the user experience which cannot be done through the automated test. But manual testing also brings some challenges, such as Prone to human error, and time consuming. As the technology evolves, Manual testing will remain important to its core principles. As a manual team includes humans they also keep the emotions of users and make sure that the application not only meets the technical requirements but also engages and satisfies the users.