Challenges in Manual and Automation Testing

Software testing has many challenges whether it is Manual or Automation and every tester would have experienced at least one of the below challenges or may be all of them. Those who want to come into software testing field and those who think that software testing is an easy field to work in, must read this article to know the reality faced by a tester while struggling to get his software better.

Tester is a mid-man between developer and client. If he misses any defect while testing and that defect is caught by the client then he is responsible for every explanation why that defect is not yet resolved, not the developer who has developed that software. Similarly if he finds a defect then he is responsible to get it fixed by the developer and sometimes it becomes challenging to convince developer that it’s a valid defect (especially when tester has done out of the box testing and found a defect which is not listed in the requirements but is annoying from the user’s perspective). I have listed down some of the challenges which tester usually faces during Manual as well as Automation testing.

Challenges in Manual and Automation Testing:

1. Complete understanding of requirements: When requirements are documented and provided to a tester, it is his responsibility to understand each requirement properly and if there are some ambiguity then he should talk to client and get it cleared. It becomes challenging for him when he has to review and understand every requirement and then make TEST CASES accordingly. If he fails to do so, he will not be able to test the software properly.

2. 100 percent test coverage: There is nothing called 100 percent testing. It is a challenge for a software tester to cover the maximum areas of application to test and find maximum defects to make it better.

3. Regression test cases coverage: When software expands after every release, it becomes so wide that it is a challenge to cope up with the regression testing, verify the new changes, test the old functionality, tracking of existing defects and logging new ones.

4. Complete test execution before deadline: Due to tight schedule, it is quite difficult to complete testing within the deadline. Testing not only includes execution of the test cases but it includes execution, logging of defects, regression testing and exploratory testing.

5. 100 Percent Automation: Do you think 100% automation is achievable? NO, it is impossible to automate each and every test case, it is a challenging job to automate maximum number of scenarios possible.

6. Proper communication with the developer: As I have mentioned before, it is not that easy to point out a defect and convince a developer to fix it. Tester with very good communication skill and patience is needed to do the job. He should have a strong reason to prove why it is so important to fix that defect and what the after effects are if it is not fixed properly.

7. Think from all user perspective: This is the biggest challenge for a software tester to test an application keeping in mind that different users are going to use it in different ways. He should be able to test the application such that most of the users find it comfortable and useful.

8. Find difficult bugs: It is not difficult to find bugs which are not according to the requirement given to a tester but it is challenging to find difficult bugs which are not mentioned in the documents and are important from a customer’s point of view.

9. Out of box thinking: Testers are always expected to think out of the box and find defects which are not easy to find by the users. This is one of the challenge which mostly new tester experiences.

10. Environment set up: To carry out testing of some applications, it is required to set up an environment. They may be some kind of tools which are required or some pre conditions to fulfill. Tester has to set all these up properly to get the accurate results.

11. Required skill set: When we talk about Automation, tester has to have some programming knowledge to write the scripts and also should show how to use automation tools really well.

12. Time to write auto test: When project has tight deadlines, it becomes difficult to write auto test, review them and then execute them. Tester has to be very skilled to perform all this within the given time.

13. To cope up with new/modified requirements: Sometimes requirements are changed/added in between the project milestones. It becomes a challenge to cope up with the new changes within the deadline and making sure that all the old ones are working properly.

14. Missed defects: To handle a situation where a defect is missed and caught by the client is challenging for a software tester. He needs to have good convincing skill and communication to handle such scenarios.

15. How much testing is enough? Tester has to decide how much testing he should do within the specific deadline to find out the maximum defects and also covers most of the areas. This part is challenging as test areas have to be prioritize keeping in mind that you don’t have all the time to do that.

Even though there are so many challenges in software test field but still it is one of the best job as it ensures delivery of quality product at the end. Success of a project is highly dependent on how all these challenges are handled properly and timely.

In this article we have seen list of Challenges faced by QA in Manual and Automation testing. We hope this list comes in handy to you when in working in manual as well as automation testing that fits your needs and we can’t wait to hear your comments, suggestions, additions, and of course, appreciations. :)

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