Exploratory testing is an unscripted QA testing technique used to discover unknown issues during and after the software development process. In addition to being used to discover new bugs, exploratory testing is also understood as a way to learn about the application and design functional and regression test cases to be executed in the future.

We’re excited to announce that Rainforest QA now offers exploratory testing to super-power our customers’ QA efforts. Rainforest Exploratory is an unscripted approach to QA where the tester, provided with a set of guidelines, canvases a website or app to find errors that may not be covered by standardized functional regressions.

Your Dedicated Team of Elite Testers

As part of our Unlimited plan, we provide you with a team of 4 top performing testers, hand-screened from our pool of professional QA testers based on outstanding performance. Your team is dedicated to your account and they become experts on your website or app as your runs progress.

To use Rainforest’s Exploratory feature, first choose your objective – “Find Bugs” or “Write My Tests.” You may provide optional instructions for testers and when you are ready, click “Start Exploratory Run.” Your tester team will receive the instructions and dedicate a total of 8 hours finding bugs or writing tests for you site. Exploratory testers collaborate to avoid redundancies and are instructed to deliver results within 72 hours or less.

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Once your tester team is done, you will see the output of their work in the form of regular Rainforest regression tests in your account in a designated folder.

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Using Exploratory to Find Bugs in Your Product

If you choose “Find Bugs,” our testers can either focus on one feature or section of your site if you instruct them to do so, or they can perform general exploratory testing throughout your app.

Once they are done, you will find all bugs in a dedicated folder containing scripted Rainforest tests with detailed steps on how to reproduce each bug, as well as accompanying video recordings.

Let Rainforest Write Your Tests for You

If you choose “Write My Tests,” your tester team will dedicate 8 hours to writing regressions tests for your product. You may use this feature to expand your coverage or build out your initial test suite.

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Increase Test Coverage and Discover New Regressions Rapidly

Rainforest Exploratory lets you quickly increase test coverage with minimal effort, run exploratory tests on-demand and discover new regressions and bugs quickly. Beta users of Rainforest Exploratory are already seeing great results.

During Rainforest Exploratory’s private beta, which was held in 2016, Exploratory users discovered an average of 18 previously uncaught bugs after 3 exploratory runs. Users who leveraged their Exploratory team to write their initial regression test suite saw between 30-50 Rainforest regression tests generated after the first 2 runs.

Whether used for writing tests or finding bugs, Rainforest Exploratory allows customers to spend less time building out exploratory capabilities internally and instead strategically reallocating resources towards other activities.