At this year's KWSQA Targeting Quality conference I gave a half-day workshop titled "Exploratory Testing Basics". I originally proposed that title since I thought it followed nicely from the shorter workshop I gave at the QAI TesTrek conference in Toronto last Fall. I thought to myself - I'd like to redo the exercises again, change up a few things and it should be a piece of cake.
As the Winter months progressed into Spring, I began to worry about my workshop idea more and more. You see, the exercise I gave at the QAI conference, while fun and appropriate, only really covered one aspect of Exploratory Testing - a broader framework. Perhaps that isn't enough? What is enough, then? What makes up the "basics" of ET?
You see, when I teach ET, it's usually one-on-one and I spend 2-3 days just to cover the basics. It takes me a few more days of pair testing and debriefing/coaching to help the new tester put everything into practice. It really is quite complex and a lot of ideas and models may seem abstract until you try them out and adjust with good feedback.
