Exploratory Testing Risk-Based Exploratory Testing 2

Question 1

What is a 'risk heuristic' in exploratory testing?

Accepted Answer

A rule of thumb that helps testers identify likely risk areas based on experience

Answer

Risk heuristics are experienced-based patterns (e.g., 'new code is riskier than stable code') that help testers locate likely problem areas.

Question 2

Why is recently changed code considered a higher testing risk during exploratory testing?

Accepted Answer

Code changes introduce new defects and may break previously working behavior

Answer

Every code change is an opportunity to introduce new defects or unintended side effects, making recently changed areas high-priority for exploration.

Question 3

How does exploratory testing complement formal risk analysis documents?

Accepted Answer

It uncovers risks that were not anticipated in the formal analysis through live discovery

Answer

Exploratory testing discovers emergent, unexpected risks during live exploration that static analysis documents often miss.

Question 4

What is 'residual risk' in the context of a testing project?

Accepted Answer

The risk remaining after all planned testing has been completed

Answer

Residual risk is what remains after testing — the known unknowns and untested areas that are accepted by stakeholders at release.

Question 5

When resources are limited, how should a risk-based exploratory tester allocate session time?

Accepted Answer

Spend the most time on high-likelihood, high-impact risk areas first

Answer

Limited time should be invested where testing value is highest — the areas where failure is both likely and impactful.

Exploratory Testing Practice Test