What is Exploratory Testing?

Exploratory Testing?

• Exploratory testing is an approach to software testing that is concisely described as simultaneous learning, test design and test execution. 
• Exploratory testing allows you to think outside the box and come up with scenarios that might not be covered in a test case.
• In simple word it is a type of software testing where Test cases are not created in advance but testers check system on the fly. 
• It focuses on discovery and relies on the guidance of the individual tester to uncover defects that are not easily covered in the scope of other tests.
• It doesn't restrict the tester to a predefined set of instructions.
• This is a test approach that can be applied to any test technique, at any stage in the development process.

When should we do Exploratory Testing?

• In many software cycles, an early iteration is required when teams don’t have much time to structure the tests. Exploratory testing is quite helpful in this scenario.
• When testing mission-critical applications, exploratory testing ensures you don’t miss edge cases that lead to critical quality failures.
• It is especially useful to find new test scenarios to enhance the test coverage.
• It helps review the quality of a product from a user perspective. 

Advantages of Exploratory testing

• It requires limited preparation, which allows you to save time and quickly jump to execution.
• In Exploratory Testing, you can generate your own test scenarios on the fly, which will allow you to dive deeper into the functional aspects of the product.
• This test is much less time-consuming.
• It allows you to think outside the box and come up with scenarios that might not be covered in a test case.
• This allows the tester to find defects that are beyond the scope of the listed scenarios.
• This is an approach that is most useful when there are no or poor specifications and when time is severely limited.

Disadvantages of Exploratory testing

• In exploratory testing, once testing is performed it is not reviewed.
• Difficult to document each procedure.
• It is difficult to reproduce the failure.
• It is not easy to say which tests were already performed.
• Limited by testers’ skills set.
• Reporting is difficult without planned scripts.

Please refer the below video on complete video on Exploratory Testing: