Heuristics & Oracles
Throughout the workshop, we’ve looked at using Heuristics and Oracles in Exploratory Testing Exercises.
“A Heuristics is a fallible method for solving a problem or making a decision.” (James Bach)
We use Heuristics all the time - “a rule of thumb” is a Heuristic, as is “gut feeling”. In testing we often use Heuristics to help us come up with different angles and perspectives, to generate test ideas, to discover risks or to determine how we can tell if something is good or bad, right or wrong, desired or a a hindrance - which is where Oracles come into place:
“An oracle is a mechanism for determining whether the program has passed or failed a test.” (Cem Kaner)
In detail we’ve looked at the FEW HICCUPPS Heuristic, which you can use as an Oracle, it essentially asks on consistency in the product. FEW HICCUPPS is a acronym, where each character stands for a consistency angle onto our product - Familiarity, Explainability, World, History, Image and so forth. We discussed if there are other angles and Huib Schoots mentioned Acceptability, while Dan Ashby brought Emotions to the mix.
Heuristics are a real treasure trove, and a lot fun, too. Use, expand, experiment with them! Great ways to get into is by using Cheatsheets or TestSphere cards - have a squint at the resources just below for further links and reading.
Resources at a Glance:
- James Bach: Heuristic Test Strategy Model
- Elizabeth Hendrickson et al.: Test Heuristics Cheat Sheet
- Santhosh Tuppad: Heuristic Table of Testing
- Del Dewar: Testing Mnemonics Desktop
- Michael Kelly: Touring Heuristic
- Beren van Daele: TestSphere
- Karo Stoltzenburg: Test Heuristics and Mnemonics
- Michael Bolton: Few Hiccupps
- Michael Bolton: Testing Without A Map
- Karo Stoltzenburg: Organise? A Way!
So what are your favourite Heuristics? What helps you in testing?