Testability Methods to Enhance Exploratory Testing - Ashley Graf

One day, just a few months into my career change, I found out that I have a condition that makes me more than a bit dozy. A real quality of life killer. Now, I liked what I’d only just been starting to do full-time and wanted to keep on doing it. So I got really into learning about testability because it seemed like the answer to my question: How could I get more testing done in the same amount of time, just as thoroughly?

Throughout my time so far as a tester, I have been compiling a list of testability methods that can make that happen, wherever I’ve found them. What does testability look like in practice? In this talk, I answer that question. I’ll share with you these testability methods, and show you where they fit into the testability aspects. My focus will be on methods that can make exploratory testing easier, by making many of the variables of and surrounding the software under test easier to change, and easier to observe.

Why? Because better testability makes for better testing. The hassle of test environment setup can cause over-familiarity, and I think it’s better to test deliberately. Why do we like having new starters run amok? They see things we’ve stopped seeing. With better testability, you can combine first-day energy with long-timer context. Of course, there are trade-offs, and there’ll be a brief discussion on that. By the end of my talk, you’ll be able to improve your testing by learning more ways you could make your software testable, and consider which ones to try.