When navigating the software testing
landscape, weighing the pros and cons is important. Finding the right balance
between Visual Regression Testing and Manual UI
Testing in the quest for a seamless experience is crucial.
VRT's automated capabilities promise
efficiency in catching any visual flaws. However, with its human touch, Manual
UI Testing brings a nuanced understanding.
This blog explores how the dynamic interplay
of automated VRT with the contextual insights provided by manual testing can be
explored. This will ensure a user-friendly, digital world without losing sight
of the nuanced elements that human testers bring.
What is Visual Regression Testing?
By comparing screenshots taken before and
after code execution, visual regression testing can ensure that code changes
impact the user's experience. It is also known as Visual Testing or visual
snapshot testing.
Visual testing is a way to verify the
suitability of the visual aspects of the interface of a software application.
Visual testing or visual validation are other terms we can use. This quality
assurance measure aims to ensure that the front end of an app displays correct
data and content.
Regression Testing is a term that you may not
be familiar with. It ensures that any changes to software you make do not cause
breakage of elements previously working well. This testing is a visual test
that ensures any software changes don't lead to style issues.
Visual regression testing tools usually take
screenshots of the most recent user interface and compare them with the
original screenshots. The website should still render exactly as expected
despite several modifications. The web page should look and function the same
on various browsers.
Why is Visual Regression Testing Important?
Modern applications can adapt to customers'
needs and evolve across browsers and versions. This emphasizes the importance
of manageable functionality and layout. Visual testing ensures the user
interface works across all devices, resolutions, and browsers. Early visual
regression testing, in conjunction with developer tests, is crucial to detect
discrepancies. This will save resources and help you find any issues. For
business success, it is not enough to have flawless functionality. The
application also needs a fantastic interface. Visual regression testing is a
way to ensure a high-quality user experience. It increases credibility and
trust for designs of high value applicable in many sectors, such as banking,
travel and airline, marketing, etc. This is essential to quality control, as it
prevents costly visual bugs from reaching production.
What is UI Testing?
User Interface Testing, also called UI
Acceptance Testing, is a form of testing where we test the UI to ensure it
works smoothly. If any bugs are present that may interfere with the user's
behavior or do not meet the criteria.
UI testing, also known as GUI Testing,
evaluates user interface elements in software to make sure they work as
expected.
This usually involves evaluating and testing
visual elements that users interact with. It is important to verify the
functionality of these elements and their performance. UI Testing is a way to
ensure that software meets user expectations and needs.
UI testing is only possible if you know how
users will interact with your website. When performing UI tests, the tester
attempts to imitate the user's behavior to determine how the user will interact
and if the website functions as intended.
A minor UI issue, like a problem with the CTA,
could prevent a website visitor from completing the lead form and, therefore,
never converting. Who knows if this user was ultimately the one who increased
your ROI?
The web contains many elements written in CSS,
JavaScript, and other languages. UI testing captures the elements to test and
assert on them. It focuses on the aesthetic and structural aspects of the site,
as these are more important to the users than how the data is stored in the
database.
The UI (User Interface Testing) covers the
interactive aspect of the website. This is because the website element may be
connected to a keyboard, mouse, or other device the user uses to interact.
Why is UI Testing Important?
The average size of a website has grown over
the years. Websites are becoming larger and now have hundreds of pages. A
single page can contain hundreds of components to build a complete site.
This puts a heavy load on the web server. Any
web developer would not want to see a slow website. This scenario can be tested
as part of UI testing, which will improve performance.
A study conducted by Google found that 53% of
users abandon a task if it takes more than three seconds to load. JavaScript
and CSS can be optimized to reduce the delay. To improve website performance,
it is important to test the user interface.
Visual Regression Testing vs. Manual UI Testing: Finding the Right
Balance for Your Project
Finding the right balance requires a testing
strategy tailored to your project's unique requirements. You can create a
testing regime that incorporates the strengths of visual regression testing and
manual UI testing. This will ensure that your software is robust and that the
user experience remains optimal despite the constant changes in development and
iteration.
Let’s find the right balance for your project:
1) Critical User Flows
The critical user flows are the main paths
users follow to complete vital tasks within a digital product. They include
important functionalities such as onboarding and checkout.
Focusing on these key user flows when
balancing visual regression testing and manual UI testing is crucial. Manual
testing is the best way to navigate these paths and detect subtle issues that
automated tools may miss. This human touch provides a seamless experience for
the user.
Automated testing verifies visual consistency
efficiently, providing a holistic testing approach for these mission-critical
flows. This combination of strategies ensures robust functionality and
user-friendliness for essential product interactions.
2) Scenario-Based Allocation
Scenario-based allocation is a strategic way
to distribute testing tasks according to their complexity. Manual testing is
used for complex scenarios such as user interaction, edge cases, and complex
workflows where human intuition can be invaluable.
Automated testing, on the other hand, handles
repetitive tasks, scenarios involving large amounts of data, and regression
tests efficiently. This approach maximizes the strengths of visual regression
testing and manual UI testing, allowing for a comprehensive testing strategy.
3) Regression and Integration Testing
Integration and Regression Testing are
essential to maintaining the functionality and stability of a system.
Automated tools such as visual regression
testing often make regression testing easier. It ensures that recent code
modifications do not negatively affect existing functionality. It protects
against any unintended effects that could occur during development.
Integration Testing evaluates the interaction
between the different modules or components of the system to verify that they
work seamlessly together.
To identify and address potential issues early
on in the development cycle and ensure a robust software ecosystem, it is
important to balance comprehensive integration testing and automated regression
tests.
4)
Exploratory Testing
Exploratory testing is a dynamic, adaptable
method beyond predefined test cases. The testers explore the software
application and interact with it intuitively to discover defects, usability
problems, and possible risks.
Unlike scripted tests, exploratory testing
relies on the testers' creativity, domain knowledge, and ability to simulate
realistic user scenarios.
This method is especially effective at
identifying unexpected problems, providing insight into the user's experience,
and validating overall software functionality.
Exploratory testing adds flexibility and
intuition to testing strategies, allowing for the discovering of subtle issues
that automated testing may have missed.
5) Accessibility Checks
Accessibility tests are essential to ensure
that people with different abilities can use digital products. Accessibility
checks are conducted using automated tools and manual assessments to ensure
compliance with standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
Automated tools like LambdaTest efficiently
identify common accessibility issues, such as the absence of alternative text
for images and inadequate color contrast. LambdaTest is an AI-powered test
orchestration and execution platform that allows you to test your website in
over 3000+ test environments including real device cloud.
Manual assessments provide a more nuanced
understanding and address issues like keyboard navigation, screen reader
compatibility, etc. It is important to strike a balance between automated
checks for accessibility and human-driven assessments to create a digital space
that is truly accessible.
6) Test Environment Variability
The test environment is an important
consideration for the testing process. It encompasses the different conditions
that a software program may be used in. Manual testing is a great way to adapt
to variable environments. Human testers can explore different setups and
configurations.
This adaptability ensures the software behaves
consistently across different conditions, such as browsers, operating systems,
and devices.
Visual Regression Testing, for example,
automates repetitive tasks in various environments. This ensures that the core
functionality of the software remains intact. Automated and manual testing must
be balanced to ensure the testing reflects actual usage scenarios.
7) Feedback Loops and Collaboration
A successful testing strategy is built on
feedback loops and collaborative efforts. Collaboration between testers and
developers is key to the dynamic interaction between visual regression testing
and manual UI testing.
Manual testers can provide context and nuanced
perspective that improve the effectiveness of test scripts created by automated
tools such as VRT.
The two-way communication allows automated
testing to address real-world scenarios, while manual testing can benefit from
the efficiency and accuracy of automated tools.
Regular feedback loops encourage continuous
improvement. This allows both manual and automatic testing processes to evolve
in a collaborative manner and align themselves with the changing needs of the
software lifecycle.
8) Continuous Evaluation and Adaptation
To achieve the right balance between manual UI
testing and visual regression testing, it is essential that you continuously
evaluate and adapt. This involves regularly evaluating the effectiveness of
your testing strategy and adapting it to meet the project's changing demands.
Teams can stay agile and ensure their testing
practices are responsive to changing requirements, user expectations, and
development priorities. This iterative method allows for the optimization of
manual and automated test efforts.
It fosters a dynamic environment where testing
continuously contributes to the overall reliability and quality of the software
throughout its entire lifecycle.
Final Words
An effective testing strategy requires
balancing Visual Regression Testing and Manual UI Testing. Each method has its
own strengths -- precision and efficiency from automated VRT and nuanced
insights from manual testing. The right balance is like orchestrating a
harmonious partnership where automation's speed complements human intuition.
A robust testing strategy includes
scenarios-based allocations, exploratory testings, accessibility checks, and
variable testing environments. This dynamic balance allows for not only the
detection of subtle visual differences but also the validation and verification
of user-centric aspects of manual testing. The result is a robust software
product that is user-friendly.