Exploratory testing: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 17:37, 16 November 2022

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'''Exploratory testing''' is an approach to [[software testing]] that is concisely described as simultaneous learning, [[test design]] and test execution. [[Cem Kaner]], who coined the term in 1984,<ref>Cem Kaner, "[http://www.kaner.com/pdfs/QAIExploring.pdf A Tutorial in Exploratory Testing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612043734/http://www.kaner.com/pdfs/QAIExploring.pdf |date=2013-06-12 }}", p.2</ref> defines exploratory testing as "a style of software testing that emphasizes the personal freedom and responsibility of the individual tester to continually optimize the quality of his/her work by treating test-related learning, test design, test execution, and test result interpretation as mutually supportive activities that run in parallel throughout the project."<ref>Cem Kaner, ''[http://www.kaner.com/pdfs/QAIExploring.pdf A Tutorial in Exploratory Testing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612043734/http://www.kaner.com/pdfs/QAIExploring.pdf |date=2013-06-12 }}'', p. 36.</ref>

While the software is being tested, the tester learns things that together with experience and [[creativity]] generates new good tests to run. Exploratory testing is often thought of as a [[black box testing]] technique. Instead, those who have studied it consider it a test ''approach'' that can be applied to any test technique, at any stage in the development process. The key is not the test technique nor the item being tested or reviewed; the key is the cognitive engagement of the tester, and the tester's responsibility for managing his or her time.<ref>Cem Kaner, ''[http://www.kaner.com/pdfs/QAIExploring.pdf A Tutorial in Exploratory Testing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612043734/http://www.kaner.com/pdfs/QAIExploring.pdf |date=2013-06-12 }}'', p. 37-39, 40- .</ref>

== History ==

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In reality, testing almost always is a combination of exploratory and scripted testing, but with a tendency towards either one, depending on context.

According to Kaner and [[James Marcus Bach]], exploratory testing is more a [[mindset]] or "...a way of thinking about testing" than a methodology.<ref>Cem Kaner, James Bach, ''Exploratory & Risk Based Testing'', [http://www.testingeducation.org/a/nature.pdf www.testingeducation.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511190045/http://testingeducation.org/a/nature.pdf |date=2008-05-11 }}, 2004, p. 10</ref> They also say that it crosses a continuum from slightly exploratory (slightly ambiguous or vaguely scripted testing) to highly exploratory (freestyle exploratory testing).<ref>Cem Kaner, James Bach, ''Exploratory & Risk Based Testing'', [http://www.testingeducation.org/a/nature.pdf www.testingeducation.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511190045/http://testingeducation.org/a/nature.pdf |date=2008-05-11 }}, 2004, p. 14</ref>

The documentation of exploratory testing ranges from documenting all tests performed to just documenting the [[software bug|bugs]]. During [[pair testing]], two persons create test cases together; one performs them, and the other documents.

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== External links ==

* James Bach, ''[http://www.satisfice.com/articles/et-article.pdf Exploratory Testing Explained]''

* Cem Kaner, James Bach, ''[http://www.testingeducation.org/a/nature.pdf The Nature of Exploratory Testing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511190045/http://testingeducation.org/a/nature.pdf |date=2008-05-11 }}'', 2004

* Cem Kaner, James Bach, ''[http://www.context-driven-testing.com The Seven Basic Principles of the Context-Driven School]''

* Jonathan Kohl, ''[http://www.methodsandtools.com/archive/archive.php?id=65 Exploratory Testing: Finding the Music of Software Investigation]'', Kohl Concepts Inc., 2007