Exploratory Testing with Session-Based Test Management
The nature of exploration, coupled with the ability of testers to rapidly apply their skills and experience, make exploratory testing a widely used test approach—especially when time is short. Unfortunately, exploratory testing often is dismissed by project managers who assume that it is not reproducible, measurable, or accountable. If you have these concerns, you may find a solution in a technique called session-based test management (SBTM), developed by brothers Jon and James Bach to specifically address these issues. In SBTM, testers are assigned areas of a product to explore, and testing is time boxed in “sessions” that have mission statements called “charters” to create a meaningful and countable unit of work. Paul Holland discusses—and you practice—the skills of exploration using the SBTM approach. Paul demonstrates a freely available, open source tool to help manage your exploration, and prepares you to implement SBTM in your test organization.