What Is Software Testing? 100+ Free Manual Testing Tutorials

A Comprehensive Guide to Software Testing Including 100+ Tutorials on Manual Testing Definition, Types, Methods, and Process Details:

What is Software Testing?

Software testing is the process of verifying and validating the functionality of an application to determine whether it meets the specified requirements. It involves finding defects in an application and ensuring that it functions according to the end user’s requirements.

What is Manual Testing?

Manual Testing is a process in which you compare the behavior of a developed piece of code (software, module, API, feature, etc.) against the expected behavior (Requirements).

List of Manual Software Testing Tutorials

This series of tutorials provides in-depth knowledge of software testing. Carefully go through the topics mentioned in this series to learn basic and advanced testing techniques.

These tutorials will enrich your knowledge and enhance your testing skills.

Practice End-to-End Manual Testing Free Training on a Live Project:

Tutorial #1: Fundamentals of Manual Software Testing
Tutorial #2: Introduction to Live Project 
Tutorial #3: Writing Test Scenarios
Tutorial #4: Creating a Test Plan Document from Scratch 
Tutorial #5: Writing Test Cases from SRS Document 
Tutorial #6: Executing Tests
Tutorial #7: Bug Tracking and Test Sign off
Tutorial #8: Software Testing Course 

Software Testing Life-Cycle:

Tutorial #1: STLC

Web Testing:

Tutorial #1: Web Application Testing 
Tutorial #2: Cross Browser Testing

Test Case Management:

Tutorial #1: Test Cases
Tutorial #2: Sample Test Case Template
Tutorial #3: Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM)
Tutorial #4: Test Coverage 
Tutorial #5: Test Data Management

Test Management:

Tutorial #1: Test Strategy
Tutorial #2: Test Plan Template
Tutorial #3: Test Estimation
Tutorial #4: Test Management Tools
Tutorial #5: HP ALM Tutorial
Tutorial #6: Jira
Tutorial #7: TestLink Tutorial

Test Techniques:

Tutorial #1: Use Case Testing
Tutorial #2: State Transition testing
Tutorial #3: Boundary Value Analysis
Tutorial #4: Equivalence Partitioning
Tutorial #5: Software testing methodologies
Tutorial #6: Agile Methodology

Defect Management:

Tutorial #1: Bug Life Cycle
Tutorial #2: Bug Reporting
Tutorial #3: Defect Priority
Tutorial #4: Bugzilla Tutorial

Functional Testing

Tutorial #1: Unit Testing
Tutorial #2: Sanity and Smoke Testing
Tutorial #3: Regression Testing
Tutorial #4: System Testing
Tutorial #5: Acceptance Testing
Tutorial #6: Integration Testing
Tutorial #7: UAT User Acceptance Testing

Non-Functional Testing:

Tutorial #1: Non-Functional Testing 
Tutorial #2: Performance Testing
Tutorial #3: Security Testing
Tutorial #4: Web Application Security Testing
Tutorial #5: Usability Testing
Tutorial #6: Compatibility Testing
Tutorial #7: Installation Testing
Tutorial #8: Documentation Testing

Software Testing Types:

Tutorial #1: Types of Testing 
Tutorial #2: Black box Testing
Tutorial #3: Database Testing 
Tutorial #4: End to end Testing 
Tutorial #5: Exploratory Testing 
Tutorial #6: Incremental Testing
Tutorial #7: Accessibility Testing
Tutorial #8: Negative Testing
Tutorial #9: Backend Testing
Tutorial #10: Alpha Testing
Tutorial #11: Beta Testing
Tutorial #12: Alpha vs Beta Testing 
Tutorial #13: Gamma Testing
Tutorial #14: ERP Testing
Tutorial #15: Static and Dynamic Testing
Tutorial #16: Adhoc testing 
Tutorial #17: Localization and Internationalization Testing
Tutorial #18: Automation Testing
Tutorial #19: White box testing

Software Testing Career:

Tutorial #1: Choosing a Software Testing Career 
Tutorial #2: How to Get QA Testing Job – Complete Guide 
Tutorial #3: Career options for Testers
Tutorial #4: Non-IT to Software Testing Switch
Tutorial #5: Kick Start Your Manual Testing Career
Tutorial #6: Lessons Learned from 10 Years in Testing
Tutorial #7: Survive and Progress in Testing Field 

Interview Preparation:

Tutorial #1: QA Resume Preparation
Tutorial #2: Manual Testing Interview Questions
Tutorial #3: Automation Testing Interview Questions
Tutorial #4: QA Interview Questions
Tutorial #5: Handle Any Job Interview 
Tutorial #6: Get Testing Job as a Fresher

Testing Different Domain Applications:

Tutorial #1: Banking Application Testing
Tutorial #2: Health Care Application Testing
Tutorial #3: Payment Gateway Testing
Tutorial #4: Test Point of Sale (POS) System
Tutorial #5: eCommerce Website Testing

Testing QA Certification:

Tutorial #1: Software Testing Certification Guide
Tutorial #2: CSTE Certification Guide
Tutorial #3: CSQA Certification Guide
Tutorial #4: ISTQB Guide
Tutorial #5: ISTQB Advanced

Advanced Manual Testing Topics:

Tutorial #1: Cyclomatic Complexity
Tutorial #2: Migration Testing
Tutorial #3: Cloud Testing
Tutorial #4: ETL Testing
Tutorial #5: Software Testing Metrics
Tutorial #6: Web Services 

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Introduction to Manual Software Testing

Manual Testing is a process in which you compare the behavior of a developed piece of code (software, module, API, feature, etc.) against the expected behavior (Requirements).

How will you know what is the expected behavior?

You will understand it by reading or listening to the requirements carefully and comprehensively. Understand the core requirement and not just check the system’s behavior against what is explicitly written or told.

Imagine yourself as an end-user of what you are going to test. Compare the application’s behavior against your own understanding and against implicit requirements. Test for missed or implicit requirements as well.

Remember, requirements need not always be documented. You can have knowledge of the software functionality or even guess and test step by step. This is known as ad-hoc testing or exploratory testing.

Let’s take a closer look:

Firstly, whether you are testing a software application or something else (like a vehicle), the concept remains the same. The approach, tools, and priorities may differ, but the core objective remains the same – comparing the actual behavior with the expected behavior.

Secondly, testing is a mindset that comes from within. Skills can be learned, but to be a successful tester, you need certain qualities. These include curiosity, attentiveness, discipline, logical thinking, passion for work, and the ability to dissect things. These qualities are essential to be a destructive and successful tester.

Testing can be taught formally, but these qualities are what make you an effective tester. They will work for you if you possess them.

Now, let’s understand why Manual Testing has its independent existence alongside the growth of Automation Testing.

Why Manual Testing is Required?

One of the best things about being a manual tester is that it requires more than just skills. It demands a certain thought process that can’t be bought. You need to ask questions, make observations, investigate, reason, and perform intended and non-intended actions while testing.

Manual Testing is a thought process and achieving success as a tester depends on your personal qualities. It cannot be completely replaced by automation.

Automation can’t reproduce the human-like observation, questioning, investigating, and reasoning that manual testing entails. It can’t replace human judgement and attention to detail.

Automation complements manual testing by:

• Providing continuous testing when integrated with continuous integration, continuous delivery, and continuous deployment processes.
• Automating precise tests and checks to ensure faster and more reliable regression testing.
• Assisting in regression testing with automated checks, allowing human testers to focus on exploratory testing and critical thinking.

Automation should be used for repetitive and mundane tests that don’t require human judgement. It can’t replace the creativity, curiosity, and critical thinking of manual testing.

How Automation Compliments Manual Testing?

While manual testing is crucial, automation can greatly enhance its effectiveness. Continuous integration, continuous delivery, and continuous deployment practices require continuous testing, which is difficult to achieve with manual testing alone.

To achieve continuous testing, it is important to have a balance between human testers and automated checks. Automated checks should be precise and have a high return on investment. They should focus on priority test cases and be integrated into the regression testing process.

Automation should be used to fail fast and efficiently. If a critical defect is found, automation should immediately report the failure and halt further tests that rely on the failed functionality.

It is important to select the right tests to automate and prioritize them based on their impact and benefits to the overall testing process. Low priority or infrequently executed test cases may not be worth automating.

Manual testing and automation work hand in hand. Automation enhances the efficiency and speed of testing, while manual testing provides the critical thinking, creativity, and adaptability needed to find complex defects.

Conclusion

Manual testing is an essential part of delivering quality software. Automation should complement manual testing by automating repetitive and mundane checks, freeing up human testers to focus on critical thinking and exploratory testing.

Understanding the importance of manual testing and how automation complements it is the first step towards becoming an excellent tester.

In the upcoming manual testing tutorials, we will cover a generic approach to manual testing, its coexistence with automation, and other important aspects of software testing.

We hope that you will gain immense knowledge of software testing by going through the entire list of tutorials in this series.

We would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section below.