Exploratory Testing: the Ultimate Weapon
Harness the power of exploratory testing
Break down traditional QA silos and empower developers to own quality checks.
When it comes to testing, we’re inundated with testing techniques available. So, as the testing experts, it’s important for us to stay up to date with the latest trends. QA engineers need to understand which testing techniques are relevant and which ones aren’t, it’s a bit like “Keeping up with the Joneses”.
If you Google “testing techniques” or something along those lines, you’ll understand what I mean; you get an overwhelming number of results. Making a choice can sometimes feel like a game of chess. You try to consider all possible moves and outcomes. As the game develops, you begin to understand more, and sometimes you’re forced to realise that you made a wrong move.
Exploratory testing is just one of many testing techniques out there. I consider it by far one of my most favourite testing weapons for numerous reasons which I’ll cover in this article. By the end, you’ll hopefully have an idea of how to harness the power of exploratory testing.
If you’re not already familiar with exploratory testing, here’s how I would describe it: Exploratory testing is a creative approach. It’s your chance to explore the product and venture down the unbeaten path. Along the way, you’ll reveal details and discover combinations that may not have been necessarily obvious.
As QA engineers, it’s important to understand the product. Whether you’re experienced or new, having a clear idea of what’s happening on the inside is equally as important to knowing what’s on the outside. Testing follows a methodical approach, but exploratory testing knows no boundary.
My first piece of advise is to ditch the test plan when you do exploratory testing. Test plans are a set of directions, thus the complete opposite of what we want to achieve with exploratory testing. We want to discover the unknown. In case you find yourself struggling, I would suggest you bullet point a couple of areas you want to test. Avoid being precise, for example: if you’re testing a website and plan to test a few pages, write down the page you plan to make your way towards, but don’t list the steps you’ll take. When finished an example might look like this:
- Third step during checkout.
- 12 items in checkout cart.
We have the place we want to go, but we’ve avoided listing the steps to get there. The “how” is when you employ creative thinking. You might refresh the page five times, leave it idle for x minutes, or go back and forth rapidly between pages. When you start to explore, the ideas just come to you, so go with the flow. Our example list may spark new ideas along the way, and what started with two bullet points, may end with five.
Because exploratory testing allows you to be creative, you may ask yourself: “When should I stop?”. The answer is simple: when you feel like it. If you’ve started an exploratory testing session and you’ve run out of ideas after 5-minutes, then stop. Session times can vary from person to person.
My advice for how much time you spend doing exploratory testing would be to remain flexible. There are no rules saying you can’t spend 3-hours, but you may feel exhausted after. Over time I’ve found that I usually stop around the 15 to 20-minute mark. Finding that sweet spot doesn’t really exist with exploratory testing. You could make a huge discovery within the first 2-minutes, or it could take you 20-minutes.
Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple said, “It’s really clear that the most important resource we have is time”. This quote for me emphasises that we all excel in different moments, so identify what length of time works best for you. Whether you opt for an open-ended session or you set yourself a time-box, the choice on how you spend your time remains yours.
So far I’ve covered what exploratory testing is, what it might look like, and how much time you may need. What’s left to know now is when should we use exploratory testing?
Exploratory testing is a fluid approach, so the answer may not surprise you by saying that it can be used almost anywhere. For example, a test plan will help us verify what we already know to expect, but it rarely reveals what we don’t know. Exploratory testing can be used as a means to extend a test plan.
There’s no blueprint to exploratory testing like there is to white-box testing, for example, the objective of white-box testing is clear and the scope is known. With the risk of sounding like a “broken record”: exploratory testing knows no boundary. The versatility that exploratory testing brings, allows us to apply it to different products and situations.
As I bring this article to conclusion remember that we can utilise exploratory testing either as a standalone approach or as a supplement when combined with another technique. We can be precise on the length of time we spend or work open-ended. As humans, our ability to think and be creative is our strength, and employing that creativity is why exploratory testing is the ultimate weapon.
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