[Testing ] A short note on Adhoc testing

Adhoc testing is the type of testing performed without proper planning and it does not involve any formal documentation. It is relatively easy compared to other methods of testing but it is difficult to reproduce defects using this technique.

Adhoc testing do after completing formal testing, when there is no time for exhaustive testing. The tester should have good knowledge and understanding of the project. The tester must have high skills and be able to come up with judgments easily.

Types of adhoc testing,

Buddy testing:
This involves two people, one from the development team and one from the testing team working together to find defects and did after unit testing.

Pair testing:
This involves two testers and one of them performs the tests and the other notes the findings.

Monkey testing:
This type of testing is does not use test cases to find defects.

Benefits of ad-hoc testing,

• Ad-hoc testing is extremely useful in the case of projects with time constraint.
• Testers can find more number of bugs due to the innovative ideas used in testing.
• There is no extra pressure of documenting the issues.
• Could be used with other testing methods to improve the efficiency.
• This testing could be used anywhere in the software development life cycle as it is not limited to testers only.

Drawbacks of ad-hoc testing,

• As the testing process is not well documented it is difficult to replicate the defects.
• It could be performed only by an experienced and knowledgeable tester.
• It is very difficult for the tester to remember the scenarios involving different components.
• The time and effort invested in this type of testing cannot be accounted for.

Steps to make sure better adhoc testing,

• Testers should have good business knowledge.
• The key modules could be tested to make sure better defect coverage.
• The defects could be recorded for future analysis.