Exploratory Testing - Kari Kakkonen
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The document presents insights into exploratory testing, emphasizing its iterative nature, knowledge-based approaches, and the importance of learning from the system and user experience. It outlines the characteristics, purpose, and methodologies of exploratory testing, alongside examples and potential tools. Additionally, it highlights the skills and mindset required for exploratory testers, advocating for an open, inquisitive, and adaptable approach to software testing.
![TESTING DASHBOARD AS A TEST REPORT
- AN EXAMPLE
© Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 27
Test area Workload Coverage Quality
level/risks
Comment
Main page !Interrupted High,
5h
Very high [all
parts + stress
tests etc..]
49: 1435, 36:
1469,
42: 1501
wait for more
pictures of
user interface
Shopping
cart
!Started
High, 2h (reserved
4h)
Low [main parts
to testing] (High)
81: 1425
[probability 9 x
effect 9; error
number. 1425]
Order !Done
6h (reserved 4h)
High [all parts]
Feedback !Not done
Low (reserved 1h)
Low [main parts
to testing]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/exploratorytestingpraguekarikakkonen-150625144359-lva1-app6891/85/Exploratory-Testing-Kari-Kakkonen-27-320.jpg)
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Exploratory Testing - Kari Kakkonen
- 1. EXPLORATORY TESTING Kari Kakkonen at Czech Test in Prague June 25, 2015 © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential
- 2. Kari Kakkonen, Knowit • Speaks, train, coach and mentor regularly about • ISTQB Advanced, Foundation and Agile Testing + Knowit Quality Professional • Quality & Test process and organization development • Agile testing, Scrum, Kanban, Lean • Metrics • Leadership • Test automation, mobile, cloud, DevOps • Quality, Cost, Benefits • Speaking & writing highlights • EuroSTAR and Iqnite several times • ASTQB in USA, OOP in Germany, TEST-IT in South-Africa, Nordic Testing Days in Estonia, Testing Days in Czech, Israel Testing Week • Numerous times in Finland at Testing Assembly, Aalto Testing Days, Tieturi Testing, Talentum Testing Forum, Quality Assurance & Software Testing, ICT Expo, TestIT Summit, Microsoft, HP, IBM, Borland etc. events • Testing Experience magazine, Quality and Testing magazine, Sytyke-magazine, Tietoviikko • Education • ISTQB Expert Level Test Management Full & Advanced Full & Agile Tester certified • SPICE provisionary assessor certified • M.Sc, Helsinki University of Technology / Aalto- university • Marketing studies, University of Wisconsin- Madison • Professional achievements • Wide spread of business domain knowledge • Embedded, Industry, Public, • Training, Telecom, Commerce, • Insurance, Banking, Pension • ISTQB Treasurer, Executive Committee 2015- • Finnish Software Testing Board FiSTB, chairman • TestausOSY/FAST founding member • Knowit, Director, Quality and Competences • Chairman of research project STX, Lappeenranta University of Technology • Finnish Software Measurement Association FiSMA ry ex-board member • Ranked in 100 most influential IT-persons in Finland © Knowit Oy Twitter: @kkakkonen LinkedIn: fi.linkedin.com/in/karika kkonen/
- 3. 100+ Mobile apps 20+ Extranet services 50+ Intranet services 25+ Web stores 500+ Web sites100+ Service design projects Knowit – We are known for our work We develop and grow our customers’ business. © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential | Version 1.0 #1 In Quality Assurance
- 4. What it is? © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 4
- 5. CHARACTERIZATION OF EXPLORATORY TESTING • ”Planning and execution of testing is done at the same time” (After James Bach) • Test cases are not necessarily documented even afterwards (Cem Kaner) • Testing is done iteratively piece by piece • Continuous learning and interpretation of conceptions • Utilization of knowledge gained from experience © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 5
- 6. EXPLORATORY TESTING - TERMS • Adventure may go to sidetrack as long as you come back to mainroad again (Kaner) • Testing area: a bunch of functionalities • Testing session • Duration about ½ - 2 hours • Time span of concentrated work is about 20 minutes • Getting back to work takes about 20 minutes © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 6
- 7. AN EXAMPLE: WWW.TOPSELLERS.COM, A FICTIONAL E-COMMERCE SHOP • Test case: ”Log in. Browse the content of your shopping cart. Result: Shopping cart is empty, because no items have been picked.” • During testing it is noticed that the shopping cart contains items! Items have been picked with the same user account and the e-commerce shop keeps the earlier picked things in shopping cart. • Aftertaste: ”The test should have considered this. Let’s change the test data and the test itself, and design a new test case, which takes into account that the shopping cart can store items.” • A familiar situation? © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 7
- 8. LEARNING IN EXPLORATORY TESTING Testing Opinion-forming Reporting Designing actions Observations After reference: Psychology of Usability, Sinkkonen et al. © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 8
- 9. LEARNING FROM THE SYSTEM AND CUSTOMERS • What has changed or changes frequently? • What do the customers want? • What has been defined in an ambiguous way? • Where do faults cluster? • Weaknesses in the platform or programming language • System dependencies Reference: Lessons learned in software testing. Kaner, Bach, Pettichord © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 9
- 10. LEARN FROM OTHER TESTERS, DESIGNERS, FROM YOURSELF.. • What kind of errors do certain programmers make and how to report to and communicate with them • What typical errors can there be in the system • What functionalities have been built in a hurry • What have you misunderstood and what is typically misunderstood • How can the system be tested (especially in pair testing!) © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 10
- 11. WHY EXPLORATORY TESTING? KNOWLEDGE-BASED PERSPECTIVE • Exploit the natural diversity of people in testing *) • ”Do not plan for store” • Systematic variation of testing • Quick feedback to the designers intensifies learning process *) • Spread the knowledge of a tester of a special area *) Reference: Exploratory testing: A multiple case study. Itkonen, Rautiainen © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 11
- 12. WHY EXPLORATORY TESTING? TESTERS’ APPROACH • Want to add more test cases and increase the coverage of the tests *) • For defining the degree of automation of tests • Quick overview of the quality *) • Testing the side effects of changes – scripted testing can end up testing only the documented features *) • The problem in regression testing is the selection of test cases, which requires user experience and understanding of the system • When the test documentation can not be written in advance *) *) Reference: Exploratory testing: A multiple case study. Itkonen, Rautiainen © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 12
- 13. WHY EXPLORATORY TESTING? MANAGEMENT APPROACH • Low management costs of test documentation • Finding out the features of a poorly-documented component • Optimizing the productivity of testing? • When the available workload is limited *) • When you want to train the customer support at the same time *) Reference: Exploratory testing: A multiple case study. Itkonen, Rautiainen © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 13
- 14. How is it done? © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 14
- 15. Step by step © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential Plan • Test charter Test session • Notes • Bugs Debriefing • Dashboard
- 16. TEST DESIGN • Define the testing areas of the test object • Divide each area to one or more test sessions • Test charter works as a roadmap per test session • Define test cases to be documented • heuristic: less than 10% of all tests • Write down test ideas and/or high level test cases © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 16
- 17. PURPOSE OF TEST CHARTER(S) • What will be tested? • What documents are available? • What kind of errors are being sought? • Tasks and what test techniques will be used? • Targets and outputs (for example reports) Reference: A practioner’s guide to software test design. Copeland Ref. Exploratory testing: A multiple case study. Itkonen, Rautiainen © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 17
- 18. Charter © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 18 Area Coverage and working hours Practice Documents Result possible errors Risks R1. Customer’s all selected items are not added to order, Effect: 20 eur/buyer, probability 5% R2. Order can not be completed after interruption, 5, probability: ?? Main page 100% Path coverage (direct paths) and the most common (80% used) loops 10h Scripting with Functional Tester-tool Main page display description document, navigation map (COMING FROM DEVELOPMENT) All pages and the shopping cart are available Shopping cart 5h Shopping cart- UC.doc (use case) Shopping cart can be used in the same way as a real shopping cart The same product can not be added to shopping cart several times Emptying the shopping cart causes an execption R1 Order ? Order-UC.doc? R2
- 19. Charter as an excel © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 19
- 20. DOCUMENTS SUPPORTING TESTING 1 (2) • Charter • List of different testing strategies • Lists of heuristics • List of typical errors • Kaner’s bug taxonomies*) (bug taxonomies are introduced in more detail in risk-based testing course) • Legal notices, standards, de facto-standards… *) Reference: Testing Computer Software. Kaner et al. © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 20
- 21. DOCUMENTS SUPPORTING TESTING 2 (2) • Requirements and design documentation of the system • Self made description of the system behavior • User guide *) • Documents that help to evaluate the conformity • HICCUP- mnemonics: History, Image, users' Claims, Comparable products, Users' expectations, Purpose, Product *) Reference: Exploratory testing: A multiple case study. Itkonen, Rautiainen © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 21
- 22. Kaner’s bug taxonomies: (Testing computer software, p. 60 – 64) • User interface errors • Error handling • Boundary-related errors • Calculation errors • Initial and later states • Control Flow errors • Errors in handling or interpreting data • Race conditions • Load Conditions • Hardware • Source and version control • Documentation • Testing errors © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 22
- 23. PERFORMANCE ATTITUDE - PROFESSIONAL WORKING • Keep the targets of testing in mind • You can visit bypaths but only for a moment • Write down observations and questions about the system • Report in a disciplined and systematical way • During the execution, write only the most essential test cases and in high level • Test cases can be refined later © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 23
- 24. TESTS DURING EXECUTION • Define a test from a question • Design test on the basis of charter and test ideas • A surprising situation may indicate an error: Utilize the surprise effect! • ”Backwards thinking”: ”This button saves the definition text. I wonder what other ways are there for saving the text?” © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 24
- 25. NOTE TAKING: TEST EXECUTION LOGS • Keep a test execution log • Keep track of the tests carried out • Main thing is that executed tests are noted • You may create scripted test cases of some of the tests • Keep the most important test cases that have been executed, which show how the testing has been done, e.g. what values have been used • You may record your execution • Write down also test notes for test session post-mortem and your own learning © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 25
- 26. NOTE TAKING: DEFECT LOGS • In defect reporting, traceability to the requirements must be maintained so that coverage can be evaluated • A well written error log is the best evidence of the existence of a fault • Report a bug clearly, so that the failure can be repeated • You may use defect reporting systems © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 26
- 27. TESTING DASHBOARD AS A TEST REPORT - AN EXAMPLE © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 27 Test area Workload Coverage Quality level/risks Comment Main page !Interrupted High, 5h Very high [all parts + stress tests etc..] 49: 1435, 36: 1469, 42: 1501 wait for more pictures of user interface Shopping cart !Started High, 2h (reserved 4h) Low [main parts to testing] (High) 81: 1425 [probability 9 x effect 9; error number. 1425] Order !Done 6h (reserved 4h) High [all parts] Feedback !Not done Low (reserved 1h) Low [main parts to testing]
- 28. MEASURING EXPLORATORY TESTING • The duration of the session • The relative change in the number of test cases by the same tester • Coverage of testing per session • The number of interruptions (Suspension criteria) • Number of rejected defects in defect database • … • Metrics are the eyeglasses of testing that you need in order to be fully aware of the situation and potential problems in testing It is recommended that you choose metrics that are suitable for the challenges of exploratory testing © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 28
- 29. Some Tools • Notetaking: • Screenshots With Annotation • Video with Annotation • Intergrated bug reporting • HP Sprinter • QA Symphony qTest eXplorer • Telerik Test Studio Explore • Bug Magnet • Notepad++ (pad tools in general) • Xmind (mindmap tools in general) • Rapid Reporter • Pivotal Tracker • Test charter planning • Task and backlog tools • Test charter planning • Trello • Jira Agile • HP Agile • Excel © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 29
- 30. Who can do it? © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 30
- 31. WHO TO RECRUIT? THE PROFILE OF AN EXPLORATORY TESTER • Exploratory testing is particularly well suitable for a person, who… • likes to take risks • is not afraid of changes or new things • is open-minded • sets challenges and goals to themselves • is smart and quick in finding test conditions • ”Pioneer-style” • Everyone can learn to be an exploratory tester Reference: Choosing and Managing the Ideal Test Team. Lloyd Roden © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 31
- 32. EXPLORATORY TESTING REQUIRES LEARNING SKILLS • Outline the functionality of the system on paper • Aim at understanding • Don’t force yourself to remember facts, use documents • Ask questions about the functionality of the system • Recognize the items on which you need more information Reference: Tutkiva oppiminen. Hakkarainen et al. © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 32
- 33. CONSIDER THE LEARNING STYLES • When you explore the system functionality, *) • are you trying the system yourself? • do you ask a colleague to explain? • do you create models of the software functionality? • are you interested in the details or are you trying to understand the overall picture? • Some learn by trying, others socially, others by thinking… *) Reference: Learning Styles and Exploratory Testing. Kaner, Tinkham. © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 33
- 34. RELIABLE INFORMATION TO SUPPORT TESTING • Sources of information: background documents, own experience, interviews... • Conceptions are created about the system and the specifications • Are the documents reliable? • What is the "fact"? • Evaluate the sufficiency of the information sources Formation of conception repor- ting design findings © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 34
- 35. BE CRITICAL • Information has inconsistencies and errors • Exploratory testing is not a substitute for professional documentation • Find out what data sources the customer considers to be stone carved definitions of and facts about the software • Find out what to do if the specifications contradict each other • Be suspicious! Suspect everything! © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 35
- 36. IMPROVE YOUR TESTING THINKING SKILLS • Observe your own testing habits • Recognize your own ways of thinking • Learn from misunderstandings and mistakes • Select the testing techniques according to the situation *) • Improve your skills to deduce the states of the system *) Adapted from the reference: Tutkiva oppiminen. Hakkarainen et al., *) Reference: Rapid Software Testing. James Bach © Copyright Knowit Oy 2015 | Confidential 36