Software Testing is the process to check whether the actual software product matches the expected product and making sure that it is defect-free. This process is carried out in the entire SDLC phase. It is the process of checking, verifying, and validating the requirements of the product and identifying the gaps in the product. The main motive of testing is to make the product error-free.
In earlier days, testing was done manually by the testers, but in today’s world of modern era and technology, everyone wants their life to be easier. With this though, automation testing came into the picture and life became easier.
What Advantages Testing has in SDLC ?
Brings In Customer Confidence and Satisfaction:-
If the software is just developed and is directly sold to the customers without ensuring the quality and the functionality of the software, then it will be a matter of high risk. If the product fails in front of the customers then chances are clients are not willing to forgive that, since they paid for you for the smooth functioning of the software.
By investing in quality assurance(testing), you are giving a thumbs up to yourself as well as the customers that their experience matters to you.
Cost-Effective:-
Software Testing helps you to save money. Testing a project helps you save money for the long run. Catching the problem once the software is go-live is no less than a nightmare. So, you’re not only losing the money on fixing the software but also losing through potential transactions. Earlier the bugs are caught in the software development lifecycle easier it will be for you to fix it. Financially, it costs you less.
Quality Of the Product:-
To successfully hand over the product to the customer, your software should be up and running. It should be bug-free, low-risk, and highly effective. It won’t be confirmed that your product is good until you test it. It is a kind of go-live(trial) without actually the clients having to use it. Testing ensures you that you are delivering the best possible version of your product that will hit the market. It is a major requirement of any software product.
Improves Security:-
Software failures and data leakages can create havoc. It leads to enormous losses. With software testing, you can deliver a safe and secure product to your customers. It helps in protecting critical information, helps you gain the trust of customers. It is the most valuable benefit of software testing. It removes high risks and issues at the earlier stages of software development.
What are the Methods Involved In SoftwareTesting?
- Real-Time Testing:- It is the process of testing the software in real-time within a limited frame of time manually.
- Automation Testing:- It is the process of testing the software by writing the scripts of test cases and using automation tools for testing.
Real-Time Testing vs. Automation Testing
There are some of the major differences between real-time and automation testing. In real-time testing, a tester tests the AUT(application under test) manually and performs the test step by step. While, in automation testing, testers write the automation scripts, and the tests are executed automatically with the help of those scripts without any manual intervention.
What is Real-Time Testing?
It is a type of testing in which tests are executed manually one by one in an individual manner. The main motive of this type of testing is to catch bugs and make the software bug-free. It checks all the essential functionalities of the software. After the execution of the tests, a tester has to generate the reports of test execution manually. It is a kind of classical method of finding defects in the system.
What is Automation Testing?
It is a type of testing in which the testers write the automation scripts/code to test the software. The automation tester uses the appropriate automation tools to develop the scripts and execute them. It is quite handy when it comes to automation testing and makes your work all the easier. It purely depends on the pre-written scripts which execute automatically to compare the actual and expected results. All the steps are done via automation except for the creation of test scripts which are done manually. Automation testing makes the work of testers easier by reducing repetitive work.
Key Difference Between Real-Time Testing and Automation Testing:-
- Real-time Testing can be done without prior programming knowledge, whereas for automation testing one must have prior programming knowledge.
- Real-Time testing is a very tedious and time-consuming process whereas automation testing is a quick process.
- Real-time is more prone to human errors than automation testing since it is script-based.
How Is Real-Time Testing Done?
Real-Time testing is the testing that is done by understanding the end-to-end functionality of the product. After this, a test template is designed that covers all the testing phases and scenarios. Then, finally, the tester executes the test cases one by one manually. It a is very hands-on exercise. QA testers need to be highly involved in everything from creating the test cases to test case execution.
How Is Automation Testing Done?
Automation testing involves the testers writing the scripts for automation test execution. To write the developed scripts and to validate the software, testers use appropriate automation tools that are available in the market.
Why Choose Automation Testing Over Real-Time Testing?
- Less Test Execution Time:- The biggest advantage of automation testing is that it helps you to test the software in very little time. Accuracy and productivity increase how much you can test.
- More Coverage Of Test Scenarios:- Since the scripts are pre-written then it is easily feasible for you to cover more test scenarios than you can cover in real-time testing.
Why Choose Real-Time Testing Over Automation Testing?
- Complex Test Scenarios:- The biggest advantage of real-time testing is that it is more focused and testers can easily handle more complex scenarios.
- Rare Test Case Scenarios:- When it comes to testing rare test scenarios then you should go for manual testing as it won’t be feasible to automate such scenarios.
Let’s quickly have a look at the table of differences between Automation Testing and Real-Time Testing
| Criteria | Automation Testing | Real-Time Testing |
Implementation |
Achieved automatically with the use of scripts and tools. |
Achieved manually by QA Testers. |
| Execution Time | It is faster than Real-Time testing. |
It is more time-consuming than real-time testing and requires more resources. |
Efficiency |
It is more efficient. |
It is less efficient. |
Setup |
It requires less complex execution setup. | Real-Time testing has an elementary test execution setup. |
Coverage |
In automation testing, it is difficult to ensure test coverage. |
In Real-Time testing, it is easier to ensure test coverage. |
Experimental Testing |
It does not allow random(exploratory) testing. |
It allows random(exploratory) testing. |
Sureness |
Automation testing is a reliable method since it is performed by tools and scripts. Therefore, less prone to human errors. |
Real-Time testing is entirely done manually by the testers. Therefore, it is more prone to human errors. |
Tasks |
All the tasks can be automated. |
Purely manual tasks. |
User Interface Change |
A small change in UI can bring about the change in Automation scripts to match the expected output. |
A small change in UI wouldn’t hamper the execution of manual testing. |
| Investment | Investment is done on the automation tools and the engineers. |
Mostly the investment is done on human resources. |
Structure |
In Automation testing, frameworks such as Behaviour driven, Data-driven, and Keyword driven are used. |
In Real-Time testing, no frameworks are there as such but we have guidelines, checklists, etc. |
Strengths And Weaknesses Of Automation Testing:-
Strengths of Automation Testing:-
- It is more reliable since it is less prone to human errors.
- It reduces the chances of repetitive work which can ultimately lead to fatigue of the testers.
- Automation testing allows us to reuse the same kind of testing operations.
- Accuracy can be maintained with the help of Automation testing.
- Automation testing helps in increasing test coverage, as the tool never misses to test even the smallest unit.
Weaknesses of Automation Testing:-
- Automation testing requires the selection of testing tools before actually starting the execution, which is again a tedious process since automation tools are still not full proof.
- It can increase the cost of testing the project since tools used to run automation testing are quite expensive.
- Automation testing requires a lot of debugging which is again a major issue.
Strengths of Real-Time Testing:-
- It can give you visual feedback at a fly.
- It is less expensive as compared to Automation testing.
Weaknesses of Real-Time Testing:-
- Real-Time testing is more prone to human errors. Therefore, it is less reliable than automation testing.
- It is very difficult to reuse real-time tests since they cannot be recorded.
Common Platform Used For Both Real-Time Testing and Automation Testing
LambdaTest is a trending cloud-based cross browser testing platform that allows you to perform live and automated cross browser testing for websites and web applications across more than 3000 browsers, devices and operating systems. Both real-time testing and automation testing can be perform using this platform.
Wrapping Up
Real-Time testing is more suitable when test execution is done at a fly, and test cases are run either once or twice. Hence, there is very little repetition of test cases. While automation testing is majorly done to run regression test cases which are executed repeatedly for a longer period.
