TL;DR
Using this excellent post by Marcel Gehlen , I am learning about exploratory software testing. I created github wiki where I put notes about every resource listed in that post. This post is practical exploratory session of Pena palace located in Sintra, Portugal.
My vacation for end of this summer was Portugal tour, organized by Mondo Travel agency. Part of that visit was Pena national palace, located in Sintra town. As I just had read about session based test management by James Bach, I decided to practice it on Pena palace.
# CHARTER
Mission: Cover every walking path allowed to tourists in Pena palace and document interesting parts using Iphone 6s camera.
Note: When you do testing coverage, it is very important to state in report which coverage was done. Cem Kaner listed 101 testing coverage types, so please read it in order to know how complex is test coverage problem. By stating properly your testing mission, it is easier to estimate how much testing sessions is required.
I stated that I would do every walking path allowed to tourists. So no sneaking to restricted areas. Here are some other possible testing coverage types:
- investigate every wall picture
- investigate every palace window
- investigate every palace door
- investigate every tiles
# START
I know exact time that is when I took first Pena photo.
# TESTER
Karlo Smid
TASK BREAKDOWN
# DURATION
90 minutes
Note: This was “hard” requirement, because if I had exceeded that time, my group would have waited for me.
# TEST DESIGN AND EXECUTION
90%
# BUG INVESTIGATION AND REPORTING
0%
# SESSION SETUP
10%
As a group, we got info about Pena Palace from our guide. Also, I checked my testing tools, Iphone 6s and Iphone 6s smart battery case.
#CHARTER VS. OPPORTUNITY
80/20
Note: Kitchen looked very interesting. I would have definitely investigate it more if I had had more time.
# DATA FILES
# TEST NOTES
I managed to walk all available paths and document all items of my interest. When you go on vacation that is organized by agency, your are in the group and you need to adapt to given time. This is tradeoff. Positive thing is that you meet new people that have something in common: like to travel!
# BUGS
None
# ISSUES
None
In this post you learned about test coverage and how to apply session based test management during your leisure time. Have you noticed that exploratory word was striked through in TL;DR? James statement is that every testing is exploratory, so there is no need for exploratory word. And I agree with that statement based on my practical experience in last month when I applied my latest knowledge of exploratory testing.
