Exploratory Testing is something that is often misunderstood. It is actually an approach to testing that emphasizes testers ability to explore an unknown object or space through concurrent test design and test execution. While this may not say much to some of you, it is though something that all of us do when we are testing. In this talk I will discuss the fundamental idea behind exploratory testing and briefly go through sources of information that have helped me develop my understanding of it. My objective is that after the talk you will have understanding about exploratory testing and you will also know where to find more information of it.

1. EXPLORATORY
TESTING
EXPLAINED
ALEKSIS TULONEN
COMIQ OY

2. www.comiq.fi

3. www.commonsensetesting.org

4. I want to thank James Bach and Michael Bolton for the
discussions we’ve had related to this topic. Much of my
current understanding has came from those discussions.

6. TESTING
Experimenting with something in order to
evaluate it.

8. Testing is about mental engagement.

9. EXPLORATORY
TESTING
An approach to testing that emphasizes testers
ability to explore an unknown object or space
through concurrent test design and test execution.
Explore = travel through (an unfamiliar area) in order to
learn about it (Oxford Dictionaries)

10. FREEDOM &
RESPONSIBILITY
“A style of software testing that emphasizes the personal
freedom and responsibility of the individual tester
to optimize the quality of his or her work by treating
test design, test execution, test interpretation, and test-related
learning as mutually supportive activities that continue in parallel
throughout the project.” – Cem Kaner

11. At the end of each iteration, each team member should
be able to say why she is worth more money to her
employer than she was at the beginning. – (Brian
Marick)

12. CREATING BY
REACTING
“Likewise, most musicians don't compose entire
melodies in their head and then write them down;
instead, they noodle around on a instrument for a
while, playing with patterns and reacting to what
they hear, adjusting and sculpting.
An essential aspect of a painter's canvas and a
musical instrument is the immediacy with which
the artist gets something there to react to. A
canvas or sketchbook serves as an "external
imagination", where an artist can grow an idea
from birth to maturity by continuously reacting to
what's in front of him.” – Bret Victor (Learnable
Programming)

13. SUMMARIZING
Exploration, Freedom, Responsibility, Mental
Engagement, Experiments, …
So what?
What’s the big deal?

14. SUMMARIZING
• Most bugs are not obvious
• They are not out there in the open
• They are not found by following a script or walking the
happy path
• They hide all over the spaces that tend to be BIG
If we want to have chances in finding them
(bugs) – we need to become good at
exploring

15. SOURCES OF
INFORMATION
• Evolving Understanding of Exploratory Testing (by
Michael Bolton) http://www.developsense.com/resources.html#exploratory
• Exploratory Testing (by Cem Kaner) http://www.testingeducation.org/BBST/exploratory/
• Telling Your Exploratory Story (by Jon Bach) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUdWm7ddgfU
• Exploratory Testing (by Jon Bach) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y4WCdJRfV4
• A Case Against Test Cases (by Jon Bach) http://www.quardev.com/blog/a_case_against_test_cases

16. SOURCES OF
INFORMATION
• The Leprechauns of Software Engineering (by Laurent
Bossavit) - https://leanpub.com/leprechauns
• Perfect Software: And Other Illusions about Testing (by
Jerry Weinberg) – You can find it from Amazon
• Explore It!: Reduce Risk and Increase Confidence with
Exploratory Testing (by Elisabeth Hendrickson) – You can
find it from Amazon
• Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas (by
Seymour Papert) – You can find it from Amazon
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (by Carol
Dweck) – You can find it from Amazon
• “The Idea Accelerator” (by Ken Hudson) – You can find it
from Amazon

17. SOURCES OF
INFORMATION
•
“What is Exploratory Testing?”
http://swtester.blogspot.ca/2012/05/what-is-exploratorytesting.html (by Paul Carvalho)
•
“The Little Black Book on Test Design”
http://thetesteye.com/blog/2011/09/the-little-black-book-ontest-design/ (by Rikard Edgren)
•
“To The New Tester”
http://www.satisfice.com/blog/archives/958 (by James Bach)
•
“Fractal Exploratory Testing” http://www.a-sisypheantask.com/2013/01/fractal-exploratorytesting.html#.UpxHGWRgY3Y (by Adam Knight)
•
“Learnable Programming”
http://worrydream.com/LearnableProgramming/ (by Bret
Victor)

18. SOURCES OF
INFORMATION
•
“Two Forgotten Agile Values: Discipline and Skill”
http://www.exampler.com/discipline-and-skill.html (by Brian
Marick)
•
“Practical Tools For Playing Well With Others”
http://oredev.org/2013/wed-fri-conference/practical-tools-forplaying-well-with-others (by J.B. Rainsberger)
•
“Patterns for The People” http://vimeo.com/19124478 (by
Kevlin Henney)
•
“The Satir Interaction Model” http://sstconline.org/2006/pdfs/JB1365Notes.pdf (by Virginia Satir)
•
“Test Heuristics Cheat Sheet” http://testobsessed.com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/04/testheuristicscheatsheetv1.pdf (by
Elisabeth Hendrickson)

19. Twitter: @al3ksis
Blog: flowoftesting.wordpress.com
LinkedIn: Aleksis Tulonen
Email: aleksis.tulonen@gmail.com