Forget Copperfield’s death saw. Balancing quality with available resources is the greatest trick of all time. It’s quite rare for software projects to both have perfect budgets and meet set goals. So, if you’re pondering how to do the best with what you have – you’re in the right corner of the web.
In this article, we discuss practices and processes that secure decent quality for your web app and don’t exhaust your assets.
The critical areas we’re talking about include the unique features of your app and your product as such. If we take a look at the difference between web applications and desktop applications, you can notice the following:
Manual web app testing is similar to checking other types of applications. But there are aspects that are most important for users: navigation, responsiveness, load speed, etc. So, before you do anything else, it’s better to focus on what your customers think is paramount for this particular type of app.
And, of course, you can’t forget about the core of your product – functionality, performance, usability, and others. Keep what makes your app operational and enjoyable in peak condition.
As you’re well aware, manual software testing is comparatively time-consuming. And you might be tempted to rush the process to avoid messing with the deadlines. That’s something you don’t want to do. A clear roadmap lets you get to your destination quicker since you don’t have to stop every now and then to figure out where to go next.
Plus, with a defined strategy, setting up environments, allocating resources, and dividing tasks will be easier. Here’s a more generalized version of a plan for manual testing of web applications. Consider it a blueprint. Not a step-by-step guide you must follow.
First things first, – learn your product. Gather detailed requirements, review design documents, and identify core functionalities. At this stage, you should also identify your target test environments (browsers and devices). Lastly, outline objectives, scope, and methods to be used.
Next, branch out into the details of web application testing. Select the features that need verification. Develop comprehensive test cases that cover critical functionalities and prioritize testing areas based on impact. You can use a test matrix to organize scenarios and map out expected results for each scenario.
Now, it’s time to set up the testing environment. Install the required browsers, configure developer tools, and prepare the necessary devices. Don’t forget to verify access to test accounts and prepare bug-reporting templates in advance.
Begin testing by verifying the application’s fundamental operations.
Follow predefined test cases while systematically exploring user flows from start to finish. Remember that manual testing for web applications is slow. So, center on critical aspects first.
Ensure comprehensive coverage of diverse environments. Test across different browsers and multiple device types to verify functionality and appearance. Make sure to focus on responsive design for consistent experience.
Manual testing of web-based applications shines in dealing with UX. It’ll be most productive here. So, you can take a bit more to secure an intuitive and user-friendly app. Evaluate its interface, ensuring logical structure and clear navigation. Pay attention to loading times, visual consistency, and accessibility.
Assess load speeds under normal and limited network conditions. Simulate concurrent user interactions to identify potential slowdowns. And, depending on your product, test how the system handles large data sets.
Since web apps rely on online services, they’re vulnerable to diverse attacks. That’s why security shouldn’t be an afterthought. Your manual tests for web app vulnerabilities should include:
Keep in mind that these are basic checks. They will offer you some protection, yet it’ll be limited. So, if you have the time and resources, advanced security testing definitely won’t hurt. We’ll talk about it in more detail later.
For manual testing of web apps, exhaustive documentation is indispensable. Since there’s no automated system to track and log every action, what you jot down along the way is all you have. That’s why you need an organized system for capturing and upkeeping necessary data.
The info you gather will also make your transition to test automation services much easier if you decide to use them.
After the bulk of the work is done, you ought to recheck your progress.
When you confirm that everything’s secure, you can proceed with the final validation. Here, the goal is to examine conducted testing in detail. Make sure critical paths work well and verify app stability. Prepare the concluding testing summary report documenting key findings of your manual web app testing.
You know that test coverage is basically how much of your web app is checked. Generally, the more, the better. But 100% coverage is often redundant. And since we’re discussing manual testing services, it’s plain impractical. To explore every millimeter of your product is to spend months on something that might not make that much of a difference.
So, your best approach here is to start with the fundamentals. Once you secure the core, you can move on to secondary, so to speak, components if time permits.
Now, let’s take a look at how to reach good coverage within your app’s nucleus.
Finally, look for what a user isn’t supposed to do and do it. Simulate edge cases like unusual inputs, system overloads, or network changes. Keep in mind that this sort of exploration usually has no structure. That’s why it’s beyond important to keep everything documented.
When talking about how to test web based applications manually regarding security, there are two things you should keep in mind.
Of course, we’d recommend hiring cyber resilience specialists who can handle advanced techniques. Security audits, threat modeling, penetration testing, etc., are never excessive. Your users and business will only thank you for strong protection measures.
However, it might not be an option for your manual web app testing. In that case, you need to focus on the fundamentals. And you need to make sure you have a powerful security backbone.
When it comes to security in manual testing for web applications, it’s more efficient to have one person take care of security testing. Everyone doing a bit of everything is simpler. But it may also lead to shallow coverage. Plus, cyber resilience is a complex domain, requiring specialized expertise and plenty of time.
So, you can appoint a QA engineer with better skills in this area as your security lead. They can handle vulnerability checking on their own or team up with other engineers when needed.
We’ve explained why you need comprehensive records of everything for your manual web app testing. Now, let’s discuss the types of artifacts you should include.
Test strategy defines your overall testing approach. It outlines:
The strategy serves as a guiding framework, ensuring alignment with business and quality goals. It also typically remains stable across projects.
Test plan defines what will be tested, when, by whom, and with what resources. It includes:
So, the strategy provides direction. And the test plan is a concrete execution roadmap that may change as the project evolves.
Test cases are step-by-step instructions for validating specific functionality. They define test scenarios, expected inputs, execution steps, and expected results.
Checklists serve as a quick reference to ensure key aspects aren’t missed. They’re less detailed. But they help maintain coverage without writing down every single detail.
Now, let’s talk about test cases specifically. Your QA engineers will mostly work with them during manual web app testing. Usually, the more detailed they are, the easier things are down the road. Simple defect tracking, better cross-functional collaboration, and valuable knowledge transfer are just a few perks of good test case documentation. So, you should also know how to achieve it.
At this point, you’re thinking that you’ll spend quite some time writing detailed documentation. And you’re correct. But it’s important to find a balance between keeping records and wasting effort. For instance, your team shouldn’t spend most of the day taking notes. Their main task is quality assurance.
So, keep your documentation organized and actually useful.
A good way to save time when working with test cases is to include a few related procedures in one case. For example, say you need to see what happens when a user types in invalid symbols into their email address. Instead of creating a new test case to check how the system reacts to Latin or Cyrillic letters, special characters, or spaces, you group them under one test case.
Let’s take a look at a few examples of test cases for web applications in manual testing.
Test Case ID: TC001
Title: Verify User Registration Process
Priority: High
Preconditions:
Test Steps:
1. Navigate to registration page
2. Verify all registration fields are visible
3. Enter valid data in all fields
4. Click “Register” button
5. Verify successful registration
Expected Results:
Actual Results: To be filled during testing
Status: Pass/Fail
Validation Criteria:
Test Case ID: TC002
Title: Validate Login Mechanism with Invalid Credentials
Priority: High
Preconditions:
Web application login page is accessible
Test user account exists
Test Scenarios:
1. Empty Credentials
2. Invalid Email Format
3. Incorrect Password
4. Non-existent User
Validation Points:
Test Case ID: TC003
Title: Verify End-to-End Product Purchase Flow
Priority: Critical
Preconditions:
Detailed Test Steps:
1. Browse product catalog
2. Select multiple products
3. Add products to cart
4. Navigate to cart
5. Proceed to checkout
6. Payment process
7. Order Confirmation
Expected Results:
Additional Validation:
Test Case ID: TC004
Title: Validate Password Reset Mechanism
Priority: High
Preconditions:
Test Scenarios:
1. Initiate Password Reset
2. Reset Link Validation
3. Password Reset Process
Security Checks:
Overall, there are multiple ways to structure your test cases. You can pick one format that suits your project or mix and match them as needed. Just make sure the team is aware of available templates so no one gets confused.
When choosing a tool, you shouldn’t just type in “What are some tools for manually testing mobile web apps” and settle on the most popular option. Reviews and ratings are valuable. They might offer you some insight into the tool. But you always need to review it in the context of your project. So, consider these aspects during your selection:
And if you’re considering working with free or open-source tools, you should assess available support and community. If you have questions or issues, there’s rarely an official source to turn to for help. So, be mindful of what you can do when something goes wrong.
Let’s review some types of tools you’re going to need for manually testing web apps.
Keep in mind that your manual testing for web applications doesn’t have to be limited to one tool. You can use a few of them to cover more of your needs or balance your budget.
These are the key insights our team has gathered after over a decade of working with diverse projects. We can surely say that they work. And they work for pretty much any app. We understand that staying on budget is essential. But so is quality. And it should never be compromised. So, if you’re looking for a solution that’s fair-priced and lets you create a product of outstanding value – we’re here to help.
Software testing is the process of evaluation a software item to detect differences between given input and expected output. Software testing is a process that should be done during the development process. In other words, software testing is a verification and validation process.
This article is devoted to highlighting the most popular software testing tools nowadays.
Here are some important tools to test the performance, load and stress of the website/application. These tools ensure that your website/application will run under high performance and less load & stress.
Apache JMeter is a 100% pure Java desktop application designed to load test functional behavior and measure performance...
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