Q: What Is Exploratory Testing and When Should It Be Performed?
Q: What Is Exploratory Testing and When Should It Be Performed?
A: The definition of Exploratory Testing is simultaneous test design and execution against an
application. This means that the tester uses her domain knowledge and testing experience to
predict where and under what conditions the system might behave unexpectedly. As the tester
starts exploring the system, new test design ideas are thought of on the fly and executed against
the software under test.
On an exploratory testing session, the tester executes a chain of actions against the system, each
action depends on the result of the previous action, hence the outcome of the result of the actions
could influence what the tester does next, therefore the test sessions are not identical.
This is in contrast to Scripted Testing where tests are designed beforehand using the
requirements or design documents, usually before the system is ready and execute those exact
same steps against the system in another time.
Exploratory Testing is usually performed as the product is evolving (agile) or as a final check
before the software is released. It is a complimentary activity to automated regression testing.
Q: What Test Techniques are there and what is their purpose?
A: Test Techniques are primarily used for two purpose: a) To help identify defects, b) To reduce
the number of test cases.