7 Best Practices to Improve Manual Testing Skills

Over the years, testing has become a highly significant part of the development and launch process. Though the introduction of techniques like Automation due to its ability to streamline repetitive testing have gained more popularity, manual testing is still very important to meet the optimum performance and output goals.  

Even if manual testing at times may feel like a consuming task to pursue, it is crucial that testers must constantly indulge themselves into different approaches, best practices, and techniques, to rejuvenate their learning process.  

We at BugRaptors ensure that our testers get regular exposure on different projects and challenges when pursuing manual testing. More importantly, it is familiarity with the available tools and technologies that help define the journey of any tester.  

In other words, pursuing manual testing requires people to keep them updated of the changing requirements and finding ways that can help make things easy and effective. In this blog, we will aim at highlighting the various best practices that testers need to pursue in order to improve their manual testing skills.  

Let’s begin. 

How to Improve Manual Testing Skills

1. Developing Greater Focus to Improve the Dynamics 

The primary step that manual testers need to take in order to improve their journey is developing a greater focus. From being focused, we refer to exploring new things that can help improve the dynamics of the test process.  

It can be any tool or maybe a technique that has the potential to yield improved results. More importantly, to have focus on improving existing testing practices and integrating new approaches into the process could even aid creativity which is vital to yield right outcomes.  

2. Be aware of your Requirements for your ultimate perusal 

Once you have developed the right focus, the next big step that you need to take is to have a grasp on project requirements. A good tester always understands that the ability to go through the requirements thoroughly can dissipate great knowledge.   

From executives to analysts, it is crucial that testers should have a clear understanding of the objects that can hamper the test results and could bring depth into the existing test process as well as manual testing skills. Moreover, developing a right understanding of the requirements enables testers to have the right viewpoint of the system and therefore mold the process and approach to meet the defined goals.  

3. Proper awareness of Targets and Interests 

Another important activity that can help testers to improve their skills is investing time in defining targets and interests. It usually needs testers to define certain challenges for their own good, these can be the number of defects to be reported or having own targets to check what unusual results could be developed through such approach.  

Besides, testers could even aim at increasing their worth by learning about the product lifecycle, documentation, analysis, and most necessarily, the testing process to be followed. It is not possible to master everything, but having knowledge of other domains makes it easy for testers to upgrade their approach and enhance their value.  

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4. Analysing and Collecting data for Smooth Testing 

Usually, test cases are prepared beforehand allowing the testers to simply work on the defined test lifecycle while working across any potential hurdles that they face when working on a system. However, it is vital that manual testers should build on habits to jot down any test cases that are concerned to the project.  

It not only helps testers to produce richer reports but enables testers to collect data which is much more accurate and dynamic. The data developed even allows testers to understand bugs that need to be worked more concisely to produce more expressive data sets that can be used by other testers or teams to make things easy. 

5. Leveraging effective Strategies to extend the Saturation point  

Humans have a natural tendency to lose focus or feel restricted when they are working on a task which is repetitive in nature. Also, it becomes difficult to look beyond things when working after a while or when developing a feeling of things looking normal. In technical terms, it is called the saturation point.  

Therefore, it is crucial that testers must recognize the saturation point and should have effective strategies to extend the saturation point. It can be done by taking breaks when working for continuous hours or spending some time observing the past work when catching things after a long time. It can help manual testers to resume more effectively, avoid any tiring sessions, and have a new perspective when it comes to locating defects.  

6. Using Pattern Recognition & Networking as a Catalyst 

Pattern recognition is all about enhancing alertness while finding the issues, defects, or bugs in a system. It works by comparing the pieces of similar code and identifying bugs that might have gone unnoticed when you are developing conclusions. The pattern recognition approach works well for long codes where testers have a lot of information and test data available with them.  

On top of that, testers could foster the advantage of networking to learn new things and create more value in terms of skills as well as deliveries. It can either be pursued with the help of seminars, conferences, training, or brainstorming sessions that can help testers to think beyond the possibilities. Moreover, discussions can even allow testers to learn from the mistakes of others and implement innovative methodologies for improved testing.  

7. Gaining Expertise in Coding & Programming related topics  

Even if you are a tester and ideally you must stay involved with testing at all the times, it is necessary that testers should be familiar with the development process. It is because having a general idea of coding allows testers to quickly rectify bugs and have a knowledge of all the bugs that working existing ones might inject into the system.  

The programming knowledge allows testers not only to complement the process of acknowledging errors but even cut the hassle of taking minor bugs to the development team and resolving them right away when identified. Moreover, having an understanding of coding allows testers to process requirements better to ensure more effective outputs and therefore faster deliveries. Above all, having a development mindset could allow testers to collaborate better with the development team when it comes to setting expectations.  

Checkout our Ebook: Manual Testing vs Automation Testing

Conclusion

All in all, testers could invest all of their time testing in the most traditional manner or one can simply invest their time equipping the skills and insights that can simplify the task of manual testing.  

Besides, there can be numerous other tried and testing ways that can help manual testers to take their skills to a level above. It can be any tool that can make complex manual tasks simple or any method that can aid defect tracking for progressive improvement.  

Need help with manual testing, we can lend you a helping hand. Reach our experts through info@bugraptors.com