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Exploratory
testing is
defined as
simultaneous
learning,
test design
and
execution by
its one of
the most
prominent
proponent,
James Bach.
Before 1990
and even
till now, in
some parts
of the
industry,
exploratory
testing is
also known
as ad-hoc
testing.
This term
was coined
in early
1990’s by
the context
driven
testing
school
community.
Dr. Kaner
emphasized
the thought
process
involved in
unscripted
testing in
his one of
the best
book on
software
testing
called,
“Testing
Computer
Software”. |
According to the many
experts in software testing
field, in terms of finding
important defects
exploratory testing is much
more powerful than
traditional scripted
testing. As compared to
traditional manual scripted
testing, it involves less
overhead. With the
continuously increasing
adoption of agile
methodologies, adoption of
exploratory testing will
increase in future.
If we look at the definition
closely, it says that
simultaneous learning, test
design and execution. What
does that mean, it means
that testers are not
equipped with the test
scripts; they are working on
the product with some
specific goal. While working
on the product, they will
reveal some information and
learn new things, which
might change their test
strategy and course of
action. As compared to
manual scripted testing,
this practice is much more
engaging and requires
continuous attention and
focus of tester. It also
fosters the culture of
learning, since tester needs
to learn new things,
continuously about the
product, technologies, users
and so on.
One of the main problems
with implementing
exploratory testing
practices is the
measurement. In many
situations, management is
interested in checking the
progress and need some
evidence of coverage and
execution because of various
reasons. To address this
need, session based test
management can be used,
which makes it easier to
audit and measure
exploratory testing efforts. |