Ad Hoc Testing: Everything You Need To Know

Ad hoc testing focuses more on random testing to assure product completion for a quicker time to market.



Read this blog to find out more about ad hoc testing, its advantages and disadvantages, and suggested techniques.

1. AdHocTesting:EverythingYou
NeedToKnow
Everysoftwareneedstobetestedbeforeitisreleasedtothepublic.Thisensuresthatthe
softwareisreliableandperformsasexpected.Therearevariousmethodstotestsoftware,
suchasunittestingandintegrationtesting.AdHoctestingisanothersoftwaretesting
techniquethatcanbeusedtoensuresoftwarequality.
Whatisadhoctesting?
Adhoctestingisonesoftwaretestingthatcanhelpwithqualityassurance.Itisaninformal
testingmethodtofindsoftwaredefectsandproblemsquickly.Theadhocsoftwaretesting
methoddoesnotfollowformalproceduresbutreliesontesters’experienceandintuition.
Thinkofadhoctestingasaspur-of-the-momenttestingservicethatfindssoftwaredefects
beforerelease.
Adhoctestingcanbeperformedatanystageofthedevelopmentcycleandtestingprocess.
However,itisusuallydoneafterallothertestshavebeencompleted.Itisatypeoftesting
thatallowstesterstoexploresoftwareinanunstructuredway,makingitsuitablefor
softwaredevelopmentprojectswithtightdeadlines.
Keybenefitsofadhoctesting
Herearethekeybenefitsofadhoctesting:

2. Itiscostandtimeefficient
Adhocsoftwaretestingisaquickmethodthathelpsdevelopersfindprogramdefects
quickly.Thismeanssoftwareprojectscanbereleasedfasterandatalowercost.
Itisflexible
Asstatedearlier,adhocsoftwaretestingandmethodsdonotfollowformalprocedures.This
meanssoftwaretesterscanusetheirconfidencewith‘error-guessing’tofinddefects.
Itisusefulforsoftwareprojectswithtightdeadlines
Adhoctestingcanbeperformedquicklyandefficiently,makingitanexcellentoptionfor
softwaredevelopmentprojectswithtighttimelines.
Ituncoversbugsthataren’tidentifiedwithotherformal
softwaretestingmethods
Adhocsoftwaretestingcanuncoverbugsnotfoundduringothertests.Thismeans
developerscanreleasetheprogramwithfewerornodefects.
Itenablesdevelopersandtesterstoworktogether
Adhoctestingallowsoftwareteamstoworktogether(buddytesting).Asthereareno
writtentestcases,testersanddeveloperscanshareideas,discussdefectsandcollaborate
efficientlyonresolvingissues.
Noplanningordocumentationrequired
Adhocsoftwaretestingdonotrequiredeveloperstoplansoftwaretestsordocumentation.
Thissavesthemtimeandeffort,allowingprojectstobecompletedfaster.
Disadvantagesofadhoctesting
Whileadhoctestingcanbebeneficialincertainsoftwaredevelopmentsituations,thereare
somedrawbackstousingthismethod.Herearesomeofthedisadvantagesofadhoc
softwaretesting:
Itisnotsuitableforcomplexsoftwareprojects
Adhocsoftwaretestingarenotsuitableforcomplexsoftwaredevelopmentprojects.This
softwaretestingmethodmakesitdifficulttotrackdefects,makingsoftwareprojectswith
complexsoftwarerequirementsdifficulttomanage.
Itcanbedifficulttoreproducesoftwaredefects
Sinceadhocsoftwaretestingdonothavewrittentestcases,itcanbedifficulttoreproduce
softwaredefects.Thismeanssoftwareteamsmaybeunabletotrackdefectsandsolutions
efficiently.

3. Itrequiresexperiencedsoftwaretesters
Adhocsoftwaretestingrequiresoftwaretesterswithextensiveexperience.Thus,finding
suchtalentscanbechallengingfororganizations.
Ithaslittletolowaccountability
Sincesoftwareteamsdonothavewrittensoftwaretests,developersandtestersmaybeless
accountablefordefectsintheprogram.Thiscanmakesoftwareprojectsdifficulttomanage.
Typesofadhoctestingmethods
Therearethreepopularadhocsoftwaretestingmethodsusedinsoftwaredevelopment
projects:
Monkeytesting
Thissoftwaretestingmethodinvolvestestersrandomlyinputtingdataintothesoftware
applicationandattemptingtobreakthesoftware.
Buddytesting
Thissoftwaretestingmethodinvolvesdevelopersandtestersworkingtogethertotest
softwareapplications.Bothcanprovidevaluablefeedbacktosoftwareteams.
Pairtesting
Thisadhoctestingmethodinvolvestwotestersworkingtogetheronasingleprogram.
Whileonesoftwaretesterexecutesthetesting,theotherrecordsandtakesnotesonthe
defects.
Somemightconfusepairtestingandbuddytesting;however,theyaretwodistinctsoftware
testingmethods.Oneneedssomeonefromthedevelopmentandtestingteamspresentfor
buddytesting.Forpairtesting,onewouldonlyneedtwopeopleontheQAteam,butthey
shouldideallyhavedifferentlevelsofexpertise.
Whentoavoidadhoctesting
Whileadhocsoftwaretestingcanbeusefulinsoftwaredevelopmentprojects,theyshould
beavoidedincertainscenarios.Herearesomescenarioswhereadhocsoftwaretesting
shouldbeavoided:
Testersdon’thavetheexpertise
Adhocsoftwaretestingrequiresoftwaretesterswithin-depthknowledgeandtesting
experience.Thus,softwareteamsshouldavoidusingadhocsoftwaretestingifthetesters
donothavethenecessaryexpertise.

4. UItesting
Ifthesoftwareisbeingtestedtocheckusernavigationandusability,softwareteamsshould
avoidadhocsoftwaretesting.UIsoftwaretestingrequiresdetailedsoftwaretestsand
documentation,makingadhocsoftwaretestingunsuitableforthissoftwaretestingtask.
High-risksoftware
Oneshouldavoidadhocsoftwaretestingforprojectsinvolvinghigh-risksoftware
development,suchasforprogramsdevelopedformedicaldevicesandmission-critical
operations.Suchsoftwareprojectsrequirestructuredtests,makingadhoctesting
unsuitable.
Adhoctestingbestpractices
Whensoftwareteamsuseadhocsoftwaretesting,theyshouldadheretocertainbest
practices.Herearesomebestpracticesthatsoftwareteamsshouldconsider:
Haveexperiencedtesterscarryoutthetest
Makesurethatthetestiscarriedoutundertherighttestingconditions
Keepachecklistofsoftwareteststoperformandhavenotesontheprocesscarriedoutduringthe
testing
Conclusion
Thisarticleattemptedtoprovidethereaderswithacomprehensiveoverviewofadhoc
softwaretesting.Adhocsoftwaretestingisausefulsoftwaretestingmethodthatsoftware
teamsshouldconsider.However,softwareteamsshouldbeawareofthesituationswhere
adhocsoftwaretestingservicesareinappropriateandadheretothebestpractices.
Ifyouarelookingforasoftwaretestingcompanytocarryoutsoftwaretestingservicesfor
yoursoftwareproject,thenyoushouldconsiderusingImpactQA’ssoftwaretestingservices.
Theirsoftwaretestershavemorethantenyearsoftestingexperienceandcanhelpyou
effectivelytestyoursoftwareapplication.ContactImpactQAtodaytofindoutmoreabout
theirsoftwaretestingservices!