Exploratory Testing

Based on experience and is considered the most important method within experience-based testing.

Testing is either coverage-based or experience-based.

Exploratory testing is best done with others in a meeting to explore the system on the fly.

The value of having the users and stakeholders on the call allows you to rapidly confirm questions or ambiguities that arise.

Crucial for establishing confidence for stakeholders that the application will deliver value and be of high quality.

Test Charter:

• High-level mission or objective that defines the purpose of the session to guide testing activities.
• Outlines key areas to be explored, the scope of testing, and any specific goals or priorities.

Aim is to capture screenshots, video, Jira tickets, notes etc in real-time.

Key characteristics:

• Learning and adaptation
  Gain insights into the systems behavior with the benefit of the stakeholders and users in the room to get instant feedback and verification.
• Test Design on-the-fly
  Testers design test cases as they explore the system, leveraging their knowledge and intuition to identify interesting scenarios, boundary conditions, and previously unthought of unhappy paths.
• Documentation
  Informal, but good to capture notes, screenshots, or recordings to document findings
• Domain knowledge and experience
  Should be relevant to what’s being tested.
• Time constraints and focus
  Time-boxed with a charter to define the scope of what’s to be tested
• Collaboration and communication
  Right mix of people in the room.

Exploratory testing is a valuable complement to formal test design approaches to uncover defects that may not be identified through more formal and structured methods.

EXAM: What’s the difference between exploratory and error guessing EXAM: They’ll provide a testing process and ask you to identify what type it is.

Open-minded, team player, understanding that we’re exploring and providing feedback.

Essential for building confidence in the quality of the features under for end-users and stakeholders.

Most asked Interview Question

What's the difference between error guessing and exploratory testing?

Error guessing is a solo activity that relies on the tester’s knowledge and experience to guess where failures may occur as a way of making sure that specifications and testing plans are complete.
Exploratory testing on the other hand is a real-time collaborative exercise typically performed by users and stakeholders knowledgeable in the domain and application. The system is explored and tested on the fly to discover new usage patterns, boundary conditions, and unhappy paths to uncover defects that may not have been found using formal and structured methods.