Manual Testing: the 13 best tools for software testing and test management

In today’s fast-paced and constantly evolving world of software development, ensuring the quality and reliability of your application is critical. Manual testing serves as an essential aspect of the overall quality assurance process, allowing testers to thoroughly evaluate software systems and uncover potential bugs. To support testers in their efforts, a wide range of manual testing tools have emerged that offer an extensive range of features to streamline and optimise the testing process.

If you are thinking about how to become a software tester and what tools or procedures you need to know, bookmark this article. It will give you a basic overview of one of the key activities of an IT tester, regardless of seniority: manual testing and its tools.

What is the difference between manual and automated testing?

Few junior IT testers – students who find themselves in our company understand right after joining why manual tests are important when we can use automated tests. However, after a practical demonstration, it is always clear.

Automated tests use manually designed test cases that run at a specified time, for a specified period of time, and then push the results to the testers for processing. Since test cases are prepared in advance, a human doesn’t have to sit and look after automated tests – but the automation tester provides them as initial input.

Thus, at the beginning there is a manual test that must be set up correctly for the results of the automated test to be relevant. The manual test is the base without which more advanced testing would not take place.

How we selected tools for manual testing

Several of the manual testing tools you’ll find on this list aren’t exclusively for this type of testing – they offer both manual and automated testing options. This is logical because, as we wrote above, without a manual test and initial setup, even an automated test would not pass.

We’ve selected some of the most used tools and put the ones we use ourselves at the top of the list. This does not necessarily mean that they are best for all, as each test case has different criteria. However, some aspects, such as open-source or simplicity in reporting and communication between developers and testers suit us.

Our selection of top tools for manual testing

Jenkins

Jenkins is a QA tool that we also use in msg life Slovakia. It is open-source and ideal for continuous integration and continuous delivery approach (CI/CD). The advantage of Jenkins is, among other things, an active community of developers, which also brings a lot of plugins. With extensions, your testing options increase and there is no need to customize or develop specific functionality – the community has probably already created it. Jenkins is platform independent, compatible with Windows, Mac OS X and Unix operating systems.

What sets Jenkins apart is its remarkable flexibility and extensive plugin ecosystem, making it a popular choice among agile development teams. It is proving to be particularly useful for organizations that aim to seamlessly integrate manual testing into their CI/CD pipelines, ensuring efficient and reliable software delivery.

Selenium

Another tool that every IT consultant and IT tester in msg knows. Its huge advantage is scalability. Selenium provides a lot of functionality for different kinds of testing, debugging, performing administrative tasks, but not all of it is needed for all projects. As the project evolves, more and more features can be used, such as Selenium IDE, Selenium Client API, Selenium remote control, Selenium WebDriver and Selenium Grid.

A big advantage of Selenium is the ability to run parallel tests, which saves you a lot of time and makes the whole process more efficient. Also, because of the parallel testing found in the Selenium ecosystem, this solution is often combined with automated testing in the Grid tool. However, it does offer the option of a manual test. It provides a playback tool for creating functional tests without the need to learn a test scripting language. It also provides a domain-specific language for writing tests in various programming languages such as C#, groovy, PHP, Perl, Java, Python, Ruby and Scala. Selenium is an open source tool that supports operating systems such as Windows, Linux, MacOS.

JIRA

Another of the tools we use is related to tickets. Its advantage is a direct connection to developers, with whom testers and IT Issue managers can share issue tickets and thus streamline the process of troubleshooting bugs or extending functionality in the systems they create/test.

JIRA is suitable for the vast majority of agile projects, regardless of sector. With its JIRA Query language, you can define filters with a single click, and the undeniable advantage is that it’s Atlassian’s flagship tool, which means access to the extensive library of extensions in the Atlassian Marketplace.

JIRA empowers testers by providing efficient test case management, defect tracking and test execution management features. With JIRA, testers can effortlessly create, organize, and prioritize issues, assign them to team members, and closely monitor their progress. Robust reporting capabilities and seamless integration with other tools make this tool an attractive choice for many organizations. JIRA’s popularity is expanding in a variety of industries including technology, finance and healthcare, where top companies rely on its capabilities to streamline manual testing processes.

LoadRunner

LoadRunner has gained widespread recognition for its remarkable ability to simulate the activity of many users accessing the system simultaneously. Testers use LoadRunner to comprehensively analyze system performance under different workloads, thoroughly identify any bottlenecks that may prevent optimal performance, and then optimize the overall functionality of the application. The versatility of the tool is underscored by its extensive support for a variety of protocols and the provision of detailed reports, making it the ideal choice for performing stress and strain tests.

Organizations that place a high value on the performance and scalability of their software applications often rely on LoadRunner to ensure their systems run flawlessly even under heavy user load. LoadRunner is compatible with a number of developer tools and technologies, and also provides the ability to track deployments and detailed data on ongoing tests.

TestLink

TestLink serves as an open-source test management tool that offers a centralized platform to efficiently manage test cases, test plans, and test execution. Its user-friendly interface allows testers to seamlessly create, organize and track the status of test cases throughout the testing process. TestLink’s collaboration features, including email notifications and user roles, play a key role in facilitating smooth team coordination during test cycles.

It allows to provide different user access and levels with different competencies, to construct projects with complex test data sets and to report relatively easily in different formats, for example with export to MS Excel, MS Word, but also to HTML 5.

Bugzilla

Bugzilla is a web-based bug tracking tool written in Perl. It uses MySQL database. It allows users to stay connected with their clients and effectively communicate issues across the data management tool. It provides various features such as advanced search options, time tracking, email notifications, strong security, email error reporting, customization and localization.

You can use it to generate reports with a list of present bugs and various criteria included in the filter. It will assist you in fixing the bugs, which it can quickly detect thanks to inconsistent locations in the database, and it will also allow you to search over time and compare the occurrence of software bug.

BrowserStack

BrowserStack has been an industry leader in manual testing for over a decade with its Live and App Live testing tools. More than 3,000 real browsers and devices are instantly accessible to millions of testers and developers who can then deliver a great user experience. Whether you’re testing or debugging, their testing platform lets you run any combination of device, browser and operating system in the cloud. Access native device features like geolocation testing and more.

With local testing features, teams can test backup environments including internal websites, web applications, and design folders behind firewalls and proxies. BrowserStack also integrates seamlessly with Jira, GitHub, Trello, and Slack, allowing you to report bugs and alert the appropriate teams without leaving your control panel.

Citrus

Citrus is an impressive framework designed specifically for integration and end-to-end testing purposes. It allows testers to verify and validate message-based integrations, ensuring smooth and uninterrupted communication between the various components within the system. Citrus offers excellent support for multiple protocols and message formats, making it a very suitable choice for testing applications with complex integration scenarios. Its declarative approach to testing and comprehensive documentation further contribute to its widespread acceptance among testers, especially those who specialize in the field of integration testing.

Testomatio

Testomatio is a cutting-edge test management tool designed to optimize and simplify manual testing processes. With Testomatio, testers gain access to a wide range of features that allow them to effortlessly create and manage test cases, track defects and generate detailed reports. Its user-friendly interface and collaborative features make this tool an exceptional choice for teams involved in agile projects.

In addition, Testomatio integrates seamlessly with popular development and project management tools, increasing overall productivity and efficiency. It is proving to be particularly valuable for organizations looking for a comprehensive test management solution that covers all their testing needs within a single platform.

TestRail

TestRail is a comprehensive test management tool that enables testers to efficiently plan, track and manage all test activities. With amount of features including test case management, requirements management and test cycle planning, TestRail provides a complete solution for testing process surveillance. The tool’s user-friendly interface and customizable dashboards allow testers to closely monitor project progress and make decisions.

In addition, TestRail integrates seamlessly with popular bug tracking tools, further increasing its usability and streamlining the testing workflow. Its widespread adoption by organisations reflects the value placed on structured test management and comprehensive reporting.

Zephyr

Zephyr is a test management tool that has gained considerable popularity among test teams. Its main goal is to streamline the manual testing process, offering a range of features specifically tailored for test case management, test execution and defect tracking. One of the key benefits of Zephyr is its seamless integration with popular issue tracking systems, allowing testers to seamlessly manage and track defects throughout the testing cycle.

In addition, Zephyr’s compatibility with automation frameworks makes it a popular choice for QA teams looking for efficient test management solutions. The tool’s real-time reporting capabilities provide testers with valuable information about the progress of testing, allowing them to make informed decisions. Because of Zephyr’s impressive features and benefits, it is trusted and widely used by organizations that place an emphasis on effective test planning and execution.

Testlodge

Testlodge is a user-friendly and easy-to-use test management tool designed to simplify the organization and management of test cases. It offers a range of features that allow teams to effortlessly create test plans, execute test cases and track their results. With its intuitive interface and simple setup process, Testlodge is an excellent choice, especially for small and medium-sized teams.

Its seamless integration with popular bug tracking tools further enhances its functionality and usability. Many organizations value Testlodge because it provides an affordable and user-friendly test management solution that meets their specific requirements.

Jmeter

Jmeter is another manual testing tool that is used for load testing to analyze and measure the performance of web application services. It supports various parameterizations, pre-execution cookies, assertions, configuration variables, and various reports. Jmeter also supports integration with selenium, allowing it to run automated scripts along with performance or load tests.

Where do you learn how to work with these tools?

The software tester salary depends not only on the training, but also on their ability to use the tools effectively for their work. Most of the time it goes hand in hand with seniority. Experienced testers also went through manual testing, which provided them with a foundation for later work as automated testers or IT test managers.

Maybe you still feel insecure about whether you can handle working with one of these sophisticated tools. You don’t have to worry. We would also welcome a software tester junior without experience. Every new addition to our team goes through intensive training, at the end of which there are far fewer questions. However, among the often mentioned employee benefits, or rather advantages of working at msg life Slovakia, there is also a great company culture. Every colleague is willing to give you advice and not let you flounder in unfamiliar waters. All you have to do is show effort and you can be sure that your new team will support you and share their know-how.