Manual testing tools help test and manage the manual testing process in software. These tools help testers plan, monitor, and report on manual testing operations but do not execute the test cases automatically. The objective is to enhance testing teams’ productivity, performance, and teamwork while guaranteeing the delivery of the highest-level software.
What Is Manual Testing?
A manual test is an important part of the field of software development. This is used to test the software application and manually identify the bugs. Without the use of automated technologies, testers will test the test cases. Even though there is automated testing, manual testing is necessary for reviewing the usability, functionality, and overall experience of users in software applications. Many technologies support the testers in managing and simplifying manual testing efforts because the testing process is not automated. These programs are used for tracking bugs, test management, reporting, and teamwork.
Key Features Of Manual Testing Tools
- Test Case Management: These tools enable test developers to write and manage test cases. These enable the structural process of testing and ensure that test cases are written, reviewed, and executed in an orderly manner and to the full extent necessary.
- Test Execution Tracking: These tools are designed to track the test execution. It tests whether the program is successful or failed. If the test is failed, it also gives the reasons for failure.
- Bug and Issue Tracking: These tools can track the bugs and issues that are raised. Many manual testing tools have connections with the bug tracking systems. This shows the recorded issues, tracked, and addressed promptly.
- Collaboration: Manual testing tools have collaboration features that allow the team members to communicate the test plans and results of tests, assigning tasks, defects, and failures.
- Reporting: These manual testing tools are also helpful in providing a report on the test execution defects and test progress. These reports help review the test results and identify bugs that are used in decision-making.
Popular Manual Testing Tools And Their Features
1. TestRail
Purpose: Test cases and test runs can be tracked and organised using the TestRail manual testing tool. A comprehensive tool for managing tests is TestRail.
Key Features:
- Effectively arrange test cases and sets.
- This tool notes the errors and results of the test run.
- Customisable dashboards and comprehensive data reporting.
- It has connectivity with well-known bug-tracking tools such as GitHub, JIRA, and Redmine.
Best For: Teams are searching for an easy-to-use platform to oversee manual testing, from designing tests to carrying them out.
2. JIRA
Purpose: JIRA by Atlassian is used for tracking the projects and their issues. It is one of the best tools that is used mostly. This tool is used as a bug-tracking tool and is also used in test management.
Key Features:
- This tool customises the workflows for test case management.
- This tool gives the reporting and dashboard details briefly.
- This tool integrates with other tools such as Confluence, Bitbucket, and TestRail.
Best For: This tool is best for both test cases and task tracking. This tool requires a unified platform for project management
Also Check: How to Buy Taparia Tools Shares
3. Bugzilla
Purpose: It is an open-source bug-tracking tool and also supports manual testing.
Key Features:
- Facilitates the tracking and execution of test cases.
- It can be altered by adding different extensions.
- Monitor and control bugs, test cases, and flaws.
- Offers both configurable fields and comprehensive reporting.
Best For: It is the best free and open-source tool for tracking bugs and efforts of testing.
4. TestLink
Purpose: An open-source test management application called TestLink helps testers oversee test execution, test planning, and test cases.
Key Features:
- This tool helps to create and manage test cases.
- With the help of this tool, test plans are created and organised.
- It provides a clear note on the results of testing and tracking defects.
- This tool connects with other tracking bug tools such as JIRA, Bugzilla, etc.
Best For: It is a free test management tool that gives automated features.
5. Quality Center (ALM)
Purpose: ALM stands for application lifecycle management and is a high-quality tool of the HP Quality Center. This tool is used for manual testing and automated testing.
Key Features:
- It manages the execution of tests and test cases
- This tool provides the required management and tracking of the test coverage.
- This tool has the connectivity with defect management systems.
- This tool has advanced features that will provide advanced reporting and dashboards for test execution analysis.
Best For: It is best for big enterprises that need enterprise-grade test management with automated connection and reporting abilities.
6. PractiTest
Purpose: PractiTest is a tool designed for the usage of both manual and automated testing. This tool is a flexible test management tool.
Key Features:
- This tool will create and manage the requirements that are needed, test cases, and test runs.
- This tool will prepare real-time records and dashboards with customisable views.
- This tool will connect with almost 40 tools, some of which are JIRA, Bugzilla, and GitHub.
- It has an interface that is mobile-friendly.
Best For: It is best for the team who are searching for a tool that is helpful for both manual testing and automated testing.
7. Mantis Bug Tracker
Purpose: Mantis is also an open-source tool for tracking bugs. This tool is also helpful for managing and organising test cases and test cycles.
Key Features:
- This tool is a very easy and simple-to-use bug-tracking system.
- This tool has the best features of test case and test cycle management.
- It provides the notification and report details to email.
Best For: It is the best free bug-tracking tool with test management abilities.
8. Zephyr
Purpose: This tool is a famous test management tool. It is mainly integrated with JIRA, which helps to manage test cases and track manual test execution.
Key Features:
- For test case management, this tool has seamless integration with JIRA.
- This tool will create the plan, execution, and tracking of manual test cases.
- Establish and oversee test environments and cycles.
- Comprehensive dashboards and real-time test reports.
Best For: This tool is best for managing the test cases and manual test execution and tracking and is integrated with JIRA.
Conclusion
Manual testing tools play a critical role in the software development process. They enhance the efficiency and organisation of manual test efforts. They assist the tester in planning, tracking, and reporting test activities and ensure collaboration and communication with teams.
Selection depends on factors such as the size of the team, the complexity of the project, the budget, and the requirement to integrate with other tools like bug trackers or CI/CD pipelines.
Regardless of the tool, manual testing remains very important for assessing user experience, validating functionality, and ensuring that software meets acceptable quality standards before it gets released.
Also Check: My Tools Town – Best Free Online Platform Account