Exploratory Testing

Exploratory Testing

When to Use

• Planning exploratory testing sessions
• Creating test charters for focused exploration
• Applying testing heuristics to discover issues
• Documenting findings and bugs systematically
• Supplementing scripted testing with exploration
• Testing new features without detailed specifications
• Learning about a system's behavior

When NOT to Use

• When comprehensive scripted test cases already exist and just need execution
• For regression testing that requires exact reproducibility
• When compliance requires documented test scripts upfront
• For performance or load testing (use specialized tools)

Test Charter Creation

A charter defines the mission for an exploratory testing session.

Charter Format

**Charter:** [Brief mission statement]

**Target:** [Area/feature to explore]
**Resources:** [Tools, data, environments needed]
**Time Box:** [Duration, typically 60-90 minutes]

**Explore:** [What to investigate]
**With:** [What resources/techniques to use]
**To discover:** [What information to find]

Charter Template (Explore-With-Discover)

**Explore** [target area]
**With** [resources, techniques, data]
**To discover** [information, risks, behaviors]

Example Charters

Feature Exploration

**Charter:** Investigate user authentication flow edge cases

**Explore** the login and password reset functionality
**With** boundary values, special characters, and concurrent sessions
**To discover** security vulnerabilities and error handling gaps

Integration Exploration

**Charter:** Test payment gateway integration resilience

**Explore** the checkout process with payment provider
**With** network interruptions, timeout scenarios, and invalid responses
**To discover** failure modes and recovery behavior

Usability Exploration

**Charter:** Evaluate mobile responsiveness of dashboard

**Explore** the analytics dashboard on various devices
**With** different screen sizes, orientations, and touch interactions
**To discover** layout issues and usability problems

Session-Based Test Management (SBTM)

Organize exploratory testing into focused, timeboxed sessions.

Session Structure

Session Sheet Template

## Session Report

**Session ID:** ET-[YYYY-MM-DD]-[number]
**Tester:** [Name]
**Date:** [Date]
**Duration:** [Actual time spent]

### Charter
[The charter for this session]

### Areas Covered
- [Area 1 explored]
- [Area 2 explored]

### Testing Notes
[Chronological notes during testing]

### Findings
| ID | Type | Severity | Description |
|----|------|----------|-------------|
| F1 | Bug | High | [Description] |
| F2 | Question | Medium | [Description] |

### Session Metrics
- **Charter vs Opportunity:** [% on charter vs % following opportunities]
- **Test Design & Execution:** [% designing vs % executing]
- **Bug Investigation:** [% spent investigating bugs]

### Follow-up
- [ ] [Action items]
- [ ] [New charter ideas]

Testing Heuristics

Mental models and mnemonics to guide exploration.

SFDPOT (San Francisco Depot)

Quality characteristics to explore:

FEW HICCUPS

Input testing heuristics:

CRUD Operations

For data-centric testing:

Goldilocks Heuristic

Test with values that are:

• Too small - Minimum, zero, negative, empty
• Just right - Typical, expected values
• Too large - Maximum, overflow, boundary+1

FAILURE Heuristic

Look for failures in:

Touring Heuristics

Explore the application like a tourist:

Finding Documentation

Finding Classification

Bug Report Template

## Bug Report

**ID:** BUG-[number]
**Title:** [Short descriptive title]
**Severity:** [Critical/High/Medium/Low]
**Found During:** Session [ET-YYYY-MM-DD-number]

### Summary
[One paragraph description]

### Steps to Reproduce
1. [Step 1]
2. [Step 2]
3. [Step 3]

### Expected Result
[What should happen]

### Actual Result
[What actually happened]

### Environment
- OS: [Operating system]
- Browser: [Browser and version]
- App Version: [Version number]

### Evidence
- Screenshots: [Links]
- Logs: [Relevant log entries]
- Video: [Link if applicable]

### Notes
[Additional context, workarounds, related issues]

Severity Guidelines

Session Debrief Questions

After each session, answer:

1. What did you test? - Summarize areas covered
2. What did you find? - List bugs, questions, observations
3. What didn't you test? - Identify gaps and risks
4. What puzzled you? - Note confusion or uncertainty
5. What would you do next? - Suggest follow-up sessions

Output Format

When facilitating exploratory testing, provide:

## Exploratory Testing Plan

### Context
[What we're testing and why]

### Charters

#### Charter 1: [Title]
**Explore** [target]
**With** [resources]
**To discover** [information]

**Suggested Heuristics:** [SFDPOT, FEW HICCUPS, etc.]
**Time Box:** [Duration]

### Recommended Approach
1. [Step 1]
2. [Step 2]
3. [Step 3]

### Session Sheet
[Template for documenting the session]

### Heuristics Reference
[Relevant heuristics for this exploration]

Best Practices

1. Stay focused but flexible - Follow the charter, but investigate interesting findings
2. Take detailed notes - Document everything during the session
3. Use varied heuristics - Combine multiple approaches for better coverage
4. Debrief immediately - Document findings while memory is fresh
5. Share knowledge - Pair with others, share interesting discoveries
6. Track coverage - Note what was and wasn't tested
7. Timebox strictly - Respect session boundaries, create new charters for tangents
8. Balance charter vs opportunity - Aim for 80% charter, 20% opportunities