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Exploratory testing

As explained in Shipping Go: Develop, deliver, discuss, design, and go again

Exploratory testing is testing in which testers actively investigate a system and generate test ideas while interacting with it.

Exploratory testing gives a team a practical way to look for failures that planned feature checks may miss. Testers actively try to break the system rather than only confirming expected behavior. section 11.3

Once behavior-driven development helps guide feature work, the team can widen its feedback loop: generate unusual inputs, apply heavy load, observe failures, and improve the product incrementally. section 11.3

Trying to break the system

A team floods the application with load or enters special characters into input fields. Repeated scenarios can then be automated with Selenium or Cypress. section 11.3

How Shipping Go: Develop, deliver, discuss, design, and go again covers it

How deep it goes
Defines exploratory testing through load and special-character attacks, but stops short of a detailed session workflow or test-design method.
Examples
Uses heavy load and special characters in input fields as concrete probes for breaking a system.
What it assumes
Builds on behavior-driven development skills for guiding and focusing feature development.
What you can do after
Apply exploratory testing by generating extreme load and unusual input, then automate repeatable scenarios with Selenium or Cypress.
How it connects
Connects exploratory testing to behavior-driven development, automated user-simulated testing, Selenium, and Cypress.

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This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of Shipping Go: Develop, deliver, discuss, design, and go again. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.