Don't call it exploratory testing (if it's not exploratory testing)

Well, this is a bit of a rant - but seriously.

I don’t like people calling an activity exploratory testing when it’s actually ad hoc testing.

Get it right.

I think using the term “exploratory testing” loosely - takes away from the value that actual exploratory testing can add to a project.

Below are a few questions to ask yourself, to see if you are actually doing exploratory testing (or if it’s in fact ad hoc testing)

• Are you doing concurrent test design and test execution at the same time?
• Are past findings influencing what you do next?
• Have you written some test ideas or goals in mind - to help you explore the application?
• Are you documenting your test session?
• Are you focussing on both positive and negative scenarios? (if you’re just looking for bugs - this is likely to be ad hoc testing)
• Can you explain the process/what you did during the test session to someone else?
• Are you a skilled tester? (ad hoc can be done by anyone, doing proper exploratory testing is a skill in itself)
• Are you doing SBTM (Session Based Test Management)? This is a way to structure your exploratory testing. If you are doing SBTM, this is a good way to indicate you are doing Exploratory Testing. BUT, if you’re not doing SBTM, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not doing Exploratory Testing.

Updated: I have updated this blog post to help explain the difference between ad hoc testing and exploratory testing by posing a few questions