Exploratory Testing: How to Perform Effectively in Agile Development

Exploratory testing is a dynamic and unscripted approach to software testing, where testers evaluate an application based on specific goals rather than a formalized script. This method is particularly effective for uncovering unknown risks and deficiencies from a user-acceptance perspective.

To maximize the benefits of exploratory testing, consider the following:

• Leverage your domain knowledge: Use your understanding of the application and user needs to guide your testing.
• Embrace creativity and intuition: Allow your natural curiosity to drive the exploration of the software.

The most common way to perform exploratory testing follows the five stages of session-based test management (SBTM Cycle):

1. Define the mission or goal for testing
2. Create a test charter
3. Timebox your testing
4. Review your results
5. Debrief

How to structure exploratory tests 

Although exploratory testing is more spontaneous and adaptable than traditional scripted testing, it is structured in the step-by-step, time-based SBTM Cycle approach.

1. Set a mission or goal for testing

Start by defining a clear mission for your exploratory testing session. This helps focus your efforts and ensures you’re addressing critical areas. Follow these actionable steps:

• Identify common bugs: Review past projects or similar software to classify bugs by severity and priority.
• Ask probing questions:
  • What events led to the problem?
  • What systems and individuals were involved?
• Document root causes: Record details such as screenshots, comments, and specific problems to clarify the issues.
• Create test scenarios: Based on your findings, identify risks and develop test scenarios tailored to the application.

2. Create a test charter

A test charter is a concise, high-level guide that acts as a mission statement that helps you focus your exploratory testing efforts and adapt to changing conditions while allowing room for creativity.

For example, if you are testing the web app login for an e-commerce platform, a test charter might look like “analyze homepage login menu functionality and report on areas of potential risk,” or “Analyze the login features of the web application,” or “Discover if people with false data can still log in to our web app.”

Charters are designed to help you stay on track and minimize a particular risk through oversight. When creating a test charter, you should include the following: 

• The main mission for your session
• The target area or features to test and how to test them
• The risks and assumptions involved
• The expected outcomes or deliverables and how the user might use the system
• What heuristics or tools you will use during your session

Example of an exploratory test charter

A test charter serves as a concise, high-level guide for your exploratory testing session. It helps keep your efforts focused while allowing room for creativity. To create an effective test charter, follow these steps:

• Define the mission: Clearly state the main objective of your testing session. For example, “Analyze the homepage login menu functionality for potential risks.”
• Specify target areas: Identify the features or areas you plan to test. Consider aspects like user login, checkout processes, or specific application functionalities.
• Outline risks and assumptions: Document any known risks or assumptions that may impact your testing. This provides context for your efforts.
• Detail expected outcomes: Describe what you aim to achieve and how users might interact with the system. This sets clear expectations for your testing session.
• List heuristics and tools: Note any heuristics (rules of thumb) or tools you plan to use during your session to guide your exploration. 

Example: A charter for a social media application might be “Test multi-user comments, permissions, and race conditions within group membership.” By creating a focused test charter, you turn a vague testing process into a structured exploration of risks.

3. Timebox your testing

Timeboxing is a technique that allows testers to focus their efforts within a predetermined timeframe. This enhances concentration and efficiency. Follow these steps to effectively timebox your exploratory testing sessions:

• Set a duration: Decide on a specific time limit for the session, typically ranging from 60 to 90 minutes. This helps maintain focus and prevents fatigue.
• Work in pairs: Ideally, have two testers work together during the session. This collaborative approach can enhance creativity and lead to more thorough exploration.
• Minimize interruptions: Ensure that testers can concentrate without distractions during the timebox. Consider using a dedicated space for testing.
• Adjust as needed: Be flexible with the timebox duration based on test progression. If you find critical issues, you might extend the session by up to 45 minutes, or shorten it if you’ve covered everything needed.

By implementing timeboxing, you create a structured yet flexible environment that maximizes the effectiveness of your exploratory testing.

4. Review your results 

Reviewing your results is crucial for evaluating the effectiveness of your exploratory testing session. Follow these steps to conduct a thorough review:

• Document findings: Immediately record all bugs and issues you encountered during the session. Use screenshots, detailed descriptions, and any relevant information to provide context.
• Evaluate bugs: Analyze the bugs to determine their severity and whether further investigation is needed. Ask yourself:
  • Do you have sufficient evidence to report this issue?
  • What impact does this bug have on the user experience?
• Assess coverage: Reflect on the areas you tested. Consider if there are any gaps in your coverage that need addressing in future sessions.
• Organize results: Compile your findings in a clear and structured format. This will help facilitate discussions during the debriefing session.

By thoroughly reviewing your results, you ensure that your exploratory testing efforts are well-documented and actionable for the development team.

5. Debrief

Debriefing is an essential part of the session-based test management process. It allows you to reflect on your testing experience and improve future sessions. Follow these steps to conduct an effective debrief:

• Gather your team: Bring together the testers involved in the session, along with any relevant stakeholders. This fosters collaboration and ensures all perspectives are considered.
• Compile results: Present the findings from your exploratory testing session, comparing actual results to the expected outcomes outlined in your test charter.
• Identify issues and risks: Discuss any critical defects or risks discovered during testing. Highlight which areas may require further attention or testing.
• Discuss improvements: Reflect on what worked well and what could be improved in future testing sessions. Ask questions like:
  • Were there any unexpected challenges?
  • How can we enhance our testing approach moving forward?
• Document outcomes: Clearly record the insights gained during the debriefing. This documentation serves as a reference for future sessions and helps track progress over time.

By conducting a thorough debrief, you create an opportunity for continuous improvement, ensuring that your exploratory testing remains effective and responsive to changing needs.

Image: TestRail offers real-time reporting that keeps a transparent chronological history of all notes, screenshots, and defects reported, so you can easily review all your test sessions in a central place. 

The debrief is often overlooked but is a crucial information aid, allowing the test manager to develop a feel for the application’s quality and gain a holistic view of coverage. Feedback from the debrief can include evaluations of your progress toward testing objectives and summaries of the most important defects detected.

To learn more about how TestRail can help you visualize test data in realtime and use report templates to check test coverage and traceability, check out our free TestRail Academy course on Reports & Analytics

An example of exploratory testing

Here’s a real-life scenario to illustrate how exploratory testing works:

Scenario: You’re a tester for a web-based e-commerce application.

• Test charter: Your goal is to test the checkout process for usability and functionality.
• Exploration: Begin by familiarizing yourself with the application’s main features, such as product browsing, cart management, and payment processing.

Execution:

• Add items to your shopping cart and proceed to checkout. Pay close attention to any issues, such as the cart not updating correctly when adding or removing items.
• Document any bugs you encounter, including:
  • Screenshots of the issues.
  • Descriptions of the unexpected behavior.
• Adapt your testing based on discoveries. For example, if you notice inconsistencies in how items are managed in the cart, explore that functionality further by trying different combinations of adding and removing items.

Continuous feedback:

• Report any bugs in real time to the development team, fostering a quick feedback loop that contributes to the software’s overall quality.

This exploratory testing session allows you to uncover issues that scripted testing may miss, while also facilitating immediate communication with the development team to enhance the application’s quality.

How to perform exploratory testing using an agile test management tool

Performing exploratory testing using charters is helpful in an agile context because of faster delivery timelines. However, tracking exploratory testing results in a shared spreadsheet can become overwhelming, and details can be lost. Tracking them in individual documents on a network drive can be even worse. 

In TestRail, you can store charters as test cases. You can then create a test run consisting of all the different types of exploratory testing you decide to run for a particular release. 

Image: In TestRail, you can add test cases, choose an “exploratory session” template, add a time estimation, add a mission (purpose of the exploratory session), and add a goal (specific areas of validation). 

The testers can leave comments on the test case in the same place they would for a session, and the software will collect data and make summary reports available on that data.

For simpler applications that combine scripted and exploratory testing, the test run might be two dozen scripted test cases and four charters designed to explore specific risks. The example below records a session as a test case.

Image: Perform exploratory testing using TestRail by recording a session as a test case.

How to report on exploratory testing using a test management tool

Effective reporting is crucial for ensuring stakeholders understand the results of your exploratory testing. Follow these steps to create clear and actionable reports:

• Highlight key findings: Begin your report by summarizing the most significant issues and insights discovered during your exploratory testing sessions.
• Provide actionable insights: Include specific recommendations based on your findings. For example, suggest areas for further testing or improvements to the application.
• Showcase coverage and quality levels: Use metrics or visuals to demonstrate what aspects of the application were covered during testing, as well as the overall quality and confidence levels of the software.
• Use structured reporting tools: Utilize test management tools like TestRail to organize your findings. Structuring your results as test cases allows stakeholders to easily see what has been tested and what remains.
• Communicate clearly: Ensure your report is easy to understand. Use clear language, concise summaries, and relevant examples to support your claims. This helps stakeholders quickly grasp the implications of your findings.

Image: Use a dedicated test case management platform like TestRail as your exploratory testing tool to manage, organize, track, and streamline the process of producing reports for your exploratory test cases.

Ready to enhance your testing approach? Start optimizing your testing process with a free 30-day trial of TestRail or elevate your testing game by checking out this article on how to improve your exploratory testing with a test case management tool!

Exploratory testing FAQs

Scripted testing vs. Exploratory testing:

Scripted testing follows predefined test cases with specific steps, while exploratory testing involves unscripted, ad-hoc testing where testers explore the software intuitively to discover defects and assess its behavior. 

Here’s a table that breaks down the key differences between scripted testing and exploratory testing:

Types of exploratory testing

• Freestyle exploratory testing: Testers explore the software without specific guidelines, allowing organic defect discovery.
• Scenario-based exploratory testing: Focuses on specific user scenarios, simulating real-world usage to evaluate behavior.
• Session-based exploratory testing: Organized into defined timeboxed sessions, each targeting different aspects of the software.
• Pair exploratory testing: Two testers collaborate, leveraging their combined insights to uncover defects more effectively.
• Ad hoc exploratory testing: The most informal type, relying entirely on testers’ intuition and experience without a structured approach.

The type of exploratory testing you choose depends on your testing goals, the software’s nature, and the testing team’s expertise. Often, a combination of testing is used to ensure thorough coverage and defect discovery.

When to use exploratory testing

• Early testing: To uncover issues when detailed test cases are unavailable.
• Usability testing: To assess user-friendliness and identify real user issues.
• Complex systems: To adapt and discover defects in complicated applications.
• Rapid feedback: To provide quick insights in agile environments.
• Adaptive testing: To respond effectively to evolving requirements.
• Non-functional testing: To identify vulnerabilities in performance, security, and reliability.
• New feature testing: To discover integration issues with new implementations.

Exploratory testing is valuable when flexibility, adaptability, and the ability to uncover unexpected issues are crucial for effective testing. It complements scripted testing by providing a more holistic view of software quality.

Advantages of exploratory testing in agile

Exploratory testing offers several key advantages in agile development environments:

• Flexibility and adaptability: Agile development is marked by changing requirements and frequent iterations. The unscripted nature of exploratory testing allows testers to quickly adapt to these changes, ensuring that testing remains relevant and effective.
• Rapid and continuous feedback: Exploratory testing provides immediate feedback to agile teams, enabling them to identify issues early in the development cycle. This facilitates swift bug resolution and continuous improvement.
• Meets user needs: Agile aims to deliver software that addresses real-world user needs. Exploratory testing allows testers to simulate actual usage scenarios, uncovering usability and functionality issues that scripted tests may overlook.
• Increased creativity: Testers can leverage their creativity and intuition to discover defects in edge cases that scripted tests may not cover. This approach encourages thinking like end-users, helping identify potential pain points and usability concerns.
• Potential for increased test coverage: Since exploratory testing isn’t bound by predefined scripts, it can provide comprehensive test coverage. Testers can explore various paths and interactions, ensuring a broader range of test scenarios is examined.
• Early validation: Agile teams can use exploratory testing to validate user stories and features as soon as they are implemented. This helps reduce the risk of defects accumulating over multiple iterations.
• Risk mitigation: In agile projects with tight timelines, exploratory testing can help identify high-risk areas early. This allows teams to allocate resources effectively and address critical issues promptly.

By complementing scripted testing, exploratory testing provides the flexibility, adaptability, and quick feedback necessary to keep pace with the agile development lifecycle. It empowers agile teams to deliver high-quality software that meets evolving requirements and user expectations.

Exploratory testing best practices

• Define a clear mission: Start with a clear understanding of your testing objectives.
• Understand the application: Familiarize yourself with the application’s features and user expectations.
• Use charters: Employ test charters to guide your sessions while allowing flexibility.
• Timebox sessions: Limit the duration of each session to maintain focus.
• Document findings: Record your observations, including coverage and risks.
• Focus on risk: Prioritize high-risk areas in your testing efforts.
• Maintain a feedback loop: Communicate defects promptly to the development team.
• Review findings: Reflect on what worked well and what could improve future sessions.
• Test multiple formats: Explore the software across various platforms and devices.
• Provide clear reports: Summarize significant findings and recommendations for improvement.