Exploratory Testing

Exploratory testing
What is exploratory testing?

1. The test planning involves the creation of a test charter, a short
declaration of the scope of a short (1 to 2 hour) time-boxed test effort,
the objectives and possible approaches to be used.
2. Exploratory testing is a hands-on approach in which testers are involved

in minimum planning and maximum test execution
3. The test design and test execution activities are performed in parallel
typically without formally documenting the test conditions, test cases or
test scripts.For example, the tester may decide to us boundary value
analysis but will think through and test the most important boundary
values without necessarily writing them down
When to use Exploratory Testing?
Exploratory testing can be used extensively when
• The testing team has experienced testers
• Early iteration is required
• There is a critical application
• New testers entered into the team

Exemple of Exploratory Testing
Let’s suppose someone is driving a car to a place in a new area without a map.
The person driving the car will use various common techniques to reach
the place, such as:
● Getting the map of the area
● Travelling in some random direction to figure out the place
● Calling up and asking a friend for the route
● Asking for directions by going to a nearby gas station
The same idea can be extended to exploratory testing:

Ways to do exploratory testing.
Guesses
Guesses are used to find part of the program that is likely to have more errors.
Previous experience of working on a similar product / software / technology helps in
guessing.
Architectural diagrams and use cases
Architectural diagrams describe the interactions and relationships between
different components and modules. Use cases give an understanding of the product’s
usage from the end user’s perspective.
Past defects
Studying the defects reported in the

previous releases helps in understanding those
features of the software that are expected to
have maximum defects.
Error handling
Error handling is that part of the code which takes appropriate actions in case of
any failure. Exploratory testing could be done using different scenarios to test graceful
error handling.
Discussions
Exploratory testing could also be planned based on the understanding of the

software during project discussions and meetings.
Questions and checklists
Questions like “what, when, how, who and why” can provide clues for exploratory
testing of the software.
Advantages of Exploratory Testing
1. Less preparation is needed and important bugs are found quickly
2. Thinking on your feet, reacting quickly is encouraged and more defects are
uncovered
3. It can be used to review the work done by another tester
4. Exploratory testing can catch defects that may have been missed in the test cases
5. In case of limited time, exploratory testing can be used to test new features while
regression testing can be used for existing features
Disadvantages of Exploratory Testing
1. As the tests are invented and performed randomly, they can’t be reviewed in
advance and it can be difficult to show which tests have to be run.
2. Testing is dependent on tester’s knowledge, skill and experience.
3. Gaining familiarity with an application takes time, so there is a possibility of
defects being missed if the tester has less knowledge of the website or application
Conclusions
In Software Engineering, Exploratory testing is performed to overcome the

limitations of scripted testing. It helps in improving Test Case suite. It empathizes
on learning and adaptability.
Exploratory testing is vital for any successful application. How and when you
use it depends on your circumstances. What are the needs of your application?
What resources are available to you? How much budget do you have? The
advantage of crowdsourced testing is that it works in your favour whatever the
answers to these questions.
References
http://tryqa.com/what-is-exploratory-testing-in-software-testing/
https://reqtest.com/testing-blog/5-steps-to-make-exploratory-testing-work-for-you/
https://www.globalapptesting.com/blog/3-elements-you-need-to-succeed-at-exploratory-testing
https://www.testingexcellence.com/exploratory-testing-tips-best-practices/
https://reqtest.com/testing-blog/3-simple-tricks-to-make-exploratory-testing-more-efficient/
https://www.3pillarglobal.com/insights/exploratory-testing
https://www.guru99.com/exploratory-testing.html
https://governmenttechnology.blog.gov.uk/2014/11/28/top-10-tips-to-exploratory-testing/

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Exploratory testing

What is exploratory testing?

2. Exploratory testing is a hands-on approach in which testers are involved

• The testing team has experienced testers

• Early iteration is required

• There is a critical application

• New testers entered into the team

The same idea can be extended to exploratory testing:

Studying the defects reported in the

Exploratory testing could also be planned based on the understanding of the

In Software Engineering, Exploratory testing is performed to overcome the

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