The testing approach depends on the project methodology that's used for project management, as well as the release cycle of your project. For example, if an agile implementation methodology is used, then the testing team will get an iteration after 1 or 2 weeks of testing. If a waterfall methodology is used, then testing will start once all the development is over, so this can depend on the project's methodology. But when talking about Dynamics 365 CE specifically, automated testing is a good option if we keep in mind that the two platform updates release per year and the subsequent small feature and security updates are released throughout the year by Microsoft.
Another thing that is mentioned here is whether we are going to use manual testing or automated testing. Let's go over these quickly:
- Manual testing: This is the oldest method of testing, where all the test cases are executed by the testing team manually. Testing is performed using test cases that are created based on the use cases. These use cases are associated with proposed solution features. Any bug/issue that's captured during testing is reported in the bug tracking system. The bug tracking system can be software or a simple Excel sheet. Based on these bugs, a test report is prepared and shared with the development team to fix these issues.
- Automated testing: This is another option for testing, where test scripts are written in the form of code to automate test case execution. In the case of automated testing, test scripts are also written using automated testing tools. There are many automation testing tools available on the market. Companies select tools based on their expertise and requirements. The main objective of using automated testing is to increase testing efficiency and improve the proposed system quality. A bug report is prepared once testing is completed for submission.
Now that we know about these two testing approaches, let's look at the differences between the two procedures:
| Manual testing | Automated testing |
| The tester writes and executes test cases manually. | We can use an automation tool to write and execute test cases. |
| Writing and executing test cases is a time-consuming process. | Automation testing is faster than manually testing as not much human interaction is required. |
| Manual testing requires investment in experienced testing resources. | We need to invest in automation testing tools. |
| Manual testing can have errors. | This is automated fully so there is less chance of errors, considering all the test cases are designed correctly. |
| This testing can't help us to perform performance testing of an application. | We can perform performance testing and stress testing using automation testing tools. |
| It is not suitable if repetitive testing is required. | It is suitable for repetitive testing. |
The preceding table helps us to understand the basic difference between manual and automated training approaches—we can use either based on our requirements. Now, let's see what the main deliverables are for the testing phase.