DevOps is a software development approach emphasizing collaboration, communication, and automation between software development and IT operations teams. It involves continuous software integration, testing, and delivery to ensure delivery quickly and reliably. However, when it comes to testing, there are two primary approaches: manual testing and continuous testing. 

In this blog post, We’ll explore the differences between manual and continuous testing in DevOps and explain why the latter is the best option for software developers.

Manual Testing in DevOps

Manual testing involves the manual assessment of every feature and function of an application to ensure that it functions according to the specified functional requirements and is error-free. Manual testing is necessary to determine if automation is feasible and should be designed to achieve 100% test coverage during the testing phase.

While repetitive and high-frequency tests are ideal for automation, complex, subject-to-change, or infrequent scenarios require human analysis and touch. Therefore, user experience (UX) testing, exploratory testing, and rarely-occurring procedures should be done in a live environment.

Cons of Manual Testing

• Prone to Errors

Manual testing is prone to errors caused by human factors like tiredness, lack of concentration, and distraction, which can result in bugs going undetected during testing.

• Time-consuming

Testers need to spend significant time manually verifying each aspect and characteristic of the application. This process takes longer than running automated tests, which can be accomplished in a fraction of that time.

• It’s Costly

Having human testers manually conduct tests can be expensive to maintain due to the cost of paying salaries, benefits, and training.

Continuous Testing in DevOps

Traditionally, obtaining feedback at each stage of software development has been a manual process, leading to inefficient utilization of organizational resources and delayed product updates. However, continuous testing automates the testing processes and offers valuable feedback to DevOps teams early in the SDLC, minimizing human error and increasing productivity.

With continuous testing in DevOps, predefined QA scripts are automatically loaded at all stages of production, eliminating the need for human intervention when running QA tests. Automated tests play a significant role in software development by alerting development teams when tests fail. 

This way, the team can fix the issue before it affects other teams, and the project moves to the next SDLC phase automatically when the tests are successful. This efficient process leads to a sustainable delivery model that enhances productivity and department collaboration, ensuring the product is delivered quickly and efficiently to the market.

The Advantages of Using Continuous Testing in DevOps over Manual Testing 

1. Enhanced user Experience

Developers can gain valuable insights into how users interact with their products using advanced continuous testing techniques, such as simulating various usage situations and issues. This can help identify user interface inefficiencies early in development and allow developers to make necessary improvements to enhance the user experience.

2. Efficient and Cost-effective

Integrating automated testing into the software development process minimizes the time and resources required to test the software. When using automated tests, you can immediately rerun all necessary tests when any changes are made to the program, as the tests are already in place. 

By using shift-left testing and development testing, continuous testing helps reduce the resources and time invested by the team. However, manual testing requires you to redo the tests every time manually there is a modification to the software, resulting in wasted time.

3. Scalability

Continuous testing is also more scalable than manual testing. As software projects become more complex, it becomes increasingly difficult to manually test every aspect of the software. Automated tests can be scaled up or down with continuous

testing depending on the software’s complexity and requirements. This enables developers to test more features and functionality faster and more reliably.

4. Addresses Security Issues

Continuous testing addresses security concerns by establishing a safety net to safeguard the application against unforeseen breaches. It ensures the reliability and restoration of the system during software malfunctions, ensuring stability during the developmental stages.

5. Incorporates Functional and Non-Functional Testing

Continuous testing with DevOps covers both functional and non-functional testing. Functional testing includes cross-browser testing, regression testing, API testing, unit testing, and integrated testing. On the other hand, non-functional testing includes usability testing, security testing, reliability testing, and scalability testing.

Conclusion

DevOps requires a well-coordinated software development, testing, and deployment approach. While manual testing is essential to the testing process, continuous testing offers faster feedback, higher scalability, and improved cost-effectiveness. By automating testing processes and integrating them with the software development life cycle, DevOps teams can ensure that software releases are of high quality and delivered quickly and efficiently.