Activity 5.3 - Debrief your exploratory testing session

Time: 2 hours maybe less depending on what was covered in the previous activity

Purpose: Testing is a deeply personal activity that stems from your own understanding of what you are testing, your testing technique skills and your biases that will highlight and hide opportunities for testing (we’re only human after all).

A debrief after an exploratory testing session acts as a balance to your testing activities. It gives you the opportunity to share what testing was done and reflect on it, whilst allowing your debrief partner to help you identify:

  • Was the charter achieved (Was enough testing done?)
  • What might have been missed
  • What other opportunities for testing are there
  • What to celebrate / What to improve

This activity helps you to learn how to run a debrief whilst also demonstrating the value of having a discussion after an Exploratory testing session.

Introduction: You have completed an exploratory testing session based off Charters identified from the previous activities. It’s now time to share those details, so find a quiet place to discuss your testing.

Task: Pair up, and each take turns to debrief the other in how your exploratory testing sessions went. Things to consider during a debrief:

  • Approach your debrief as a storytelling activity. Use your notes as a guide to talk about your testing journey.
  • Consider questions such as:
    • Was the Charter achieved or can more testing be done?
    • Did you go ‘off-charter’ at any point? If so, what did you look at?
    • What was discovered? (both positive and negative)

Share questions asked during your debrief, what outcomes came from the debrief and what you personally got out of the debrief in this Club thread.

Debrief prep:

  • Was the Charter achieved or can more testing be done?
  • more testing needs to be done
  • scheduled follow up with PO to go through findings
  • session highlighted other risks (project) related to the release - follow up meetings scheduled
  • Did you go ‘off-charter’ at any point? If so, what did you look at?
  • slightly, due to system configurations issue
  • What was discovered? (both positive and negative)
  • epyx does not test in prior to releasing to us
  • we do not have sufficient tests that would cover both systems
  • follow up meetings are needed to agree process and config management process