Exploratory Testing Exploratory Testing Techniques 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the 'tour' metaphor in exploratory testing?
- A structured way to explore an application by following a themed path or goal (Correct answer)
- A walkthrough of the test plan with stakeholders
- A guided demo of the application given by developers
- A formal inspection of the source code
Correct answer: A structured way to explore an application by following a themed path or goal
Tours provide themed exploration strategies (e.g., landmark tour, money tour) that guide testers through different aspects of the application.
Question 2: In Michael Bolton's 'Business District Tour', what does the tester primarily focus on?
- The features most important to business users and core workflows (Correct answer)
- The system's underlying database schema
- Performance under heavy load conditions
- Security vulnerabilities in authentication
Correct answer: The features most important to business users and core workflows
The Business District Tour focuses on the features and workflows that deliver the most value to end users and the business.
Question 3: Which exploratory testing technique involves deliberately entering unexpected or extreme values?
- Boundary and error guessing (Correct answer)
- Equivalence partitioning only
- Decision table testing
- Use case testing
Correct answer: Boundary and error guessing
Boundary and error guessing involves probing inputs at their limits and with unexpected values to find failures.
Question 4: What is 'pair testing' in exploratory testing?
- Two testers collaborating at one workstation, sharing observations and ideas (Correct answer)
- Two separate testers testing the same feature independently
- A tester and a developer fixing bugs together
- A tester and a business analyst writing requirements
Correct answer: Two testers collaborating at one workstation, sharing observations and ideas
Pair testing has two testers working together at one machine, one exploring while the other observes and challenges, increasing finding rate.
Question 5: Which technique involves following the application's data as it moves through different states or modules?
- Data-flow testing (Correct answer)
- Equivalence partitioning
- Regression testing
- Boundary value analysis
Correct answer: Data-flow testing
Data-flow testing traces how data is created, used, modified, and deleted across system components.
Question 6: What is the 'Saboteur Tour' in exploratory testing?
- Deliberately trying to break the application by performing unexpected or destructive actions (Correct answer)
- Testing the application as a malicious hacker would
- Reviewing the code for logical errors
- Running the application with all features disabled
Correct answer: Deliberately trying to break the application by performing unexpected or destructive actions
The Saboteur Tour involves trying to break the application through extreme actions, invalid inputs, and unexpected usage patterns.
Exploratory Testing Exploratory Testing Techniques 1
What is the 'tour' metaphor in exploratory testing?