Training: Exploratory testing

Exploratory testing

In the years since it was first defined as a discipline, software testing has accumulated a host of misunderstandings and preconceptions.

Many practitioners, such as James Bach, James Whittaker, Cem Kaner, Jonathan Kohl, Michael Bolton, Elisabeth Hendrickson, and others, have spent years describing testing as a creative process. They saw testing as having a more meaningful role than the routine execution of prewritten test cases. These ideas, along with my own hands-on experience in testing and building complex software systems, led me to create this training.

This training is for those who are ready for change. It’s for those who understand that there is something more meaningful in a tester’s work than writing, running, and maintaining a set of test case spreadsheets. This training is for you if you’re the only tester on a project and don’t know where to start. It’s also for you if you’ve been working with a development team for years and want to improve the quality of the product you ship. And if you’re a developer looking to broaden your knowledge, this training will suit you too.

Only exploratory testing finds defects. Checks against scripted test cases, by contrast, can only confirm their absence. A professional tester knows there are always bugs. They just have to be found. This training is for those who are ready to spot bugs everywhere and are up to the task.

Target audience

Testers, test leads, test managers

Price

$350per participant

Date and time

16 hours / 2 days

Trainer

Andrii Dzynia

Detailed program

Day 1

Exploratory testing in practice: an example from the trainer

What isn’t exploratory testing?

What does it mean to do exploratory testing?

A hands-on exercise to understand the dynamics of exploratory testing

Focusing/defocusing

A hands-on exercise to understand the focusing/defocusing technique

Test oracles and how to find them

A supporting model for structuring exploratory testing

Using tours to choose the direction of a test session

A hands-on exercise in using tours during a test session

Supporting heuristics for before and after a test session

What makes a good test session report?

A hands-on exercise in writing a report on a completed test session

Running a debriefing

Discussion: adopting this approach in practice

Pairing with a tester, developer, designer, or product manager

Day 2

Recap of the previous day

Continuing the discussion: adopting exploratory testing in practice

How do you start exploring in practice? Where do you begin?

A hands-on exercise in building a functional map of the application

Preparing a tool to keep teams in sync, and distributing testing tasks

A series of hands-on test sessions to practice the skills learned on the first day of the training

The theory behind xBTM: test management based on sessions, threads, tours, and more

A series of discussions: lessons from the trainer’s experience

Why is exploration what testing really is?
Why are unit, integration, functional, and other tests not testing?
Can developers do exploratory testing?
Can the exploratory testing process be automated?
Can testing ever be fully automated?
How do you explain the benefits of exploratory testing to management?
Is it worth spending time writing scripted test cases?

Conversations about the present and the future:

What qualities should a good tester have?
What knowledge and skills does a tester need?
Which direction should a tester grow in?
Will there be a need for testers in 5 years?

Wrap-up

Recommendations for further study

Exploratory testing

Detailed program

Day 1

Day 2

Past runs