Here's how you can uncover hidden defects in an application by thinking outside the box.

????Use the application in unexpected ways or simulate scenarios that might not have been considered during development ????Test the application's boundaries and error-handling capabilities by deliberately inputting invalid data or forcing unusual conditions ????Instead of sticking to a predefined test plan, explore the application freely and intuitively. Follow your instincts and curiosity to uncover hidden defects ????Approach the application from a security perspective and try to identify potential vulnerabilities such as injection flaws, authentication weaknesses, or data leaks ????Push the application to its limits by subjecting it to heavy loads, unexpected inputs, or adverse conditions

Your approach should be shaped by your overall understanding of the product and the technology behind it. If you lack sufficient knowledge about the product and technology, I recommend getting tips from the product manager and developers. Then, by putting yourself in the end user's shoes, try to break the product with unusual but logically sound attempts. To delve into any bugs you find, try to reproduce them. Remember, bugs that cannot be reproduced are essentially not captured. In your spare time, you can engage in exploratory testing, and sometimes even request third parties to do so, to exhibit an out-of-the-box approach. Different operating systems, software tools and hardware can exhibit different behaviors. Work on test matrices.

Purpose: Identifies defects that conventional testing might miss by pushing the application to its limits. Approach: Tests unusual or unexpected conditions to uncover hidden issues. Importance: Ensures robustness by exploring scenarios often overlooked in regular testing. Analogy: Like mapping every corner of a territory to ensure no areas are prone to failure. Outcome: Helps prevent significant issues in production by validating application behavior under extreme conditions.

Perform exploratory testing as this is performed without any knowledge on application, gives you chance to navigate to non-regular flows which may not be covered during planned execution. Also check for behavior of the application at peak loads and subject to stress.

La exploración de bordes son pruebas importantes, por lo cual se debe tener en cuenta al momento de tener en cuenta los casos de prueba, los valores limites que quizas un input pueda recibir o tener en cuenta la partición de equivalencia para detectar cuales son esos bordes que se debe explorar.

Error Guessing: Rely on past experiences and intuition to anticipate where defects might be present. Exploratory Testing: Freely explore the software to uncover defects based on intuition and curiosity. Boundary Testing: Focus on the edges of input ranges, as defects often occur in these boundary conditions. Equivalence Partitioning: Divide input data into partitions and test a representative from each partition. State Transition Testing: Test how the system behaves when transitioning between different states. Use Case Testing: Focus on real-life scenarios to simulate how users would interact with the software.

Innovative thinking and leveraging heuristics are required to help guide the testing process. Different heuristics techniques are implied in order to test the input ranges rather than just the typical values, guessing where the application might be buggy. Some of these heuristic testing techniques include pushing application beyond its intended functionality and limits to identify the issues.

Develop and use heuristics specific to the domain of your application (e.g., finance, healthcare). These tailored heuristics can help uncover defects unique to the domain’s requirements and constraints. Use cognitive heuristics like the availability heuristic (testing scenarios based on recent issues) or the representativeness heuristic (testing scenarios that seem typical for the application) to guide your exploratory testing efforts.

Las pruebas exploratorias en mi experiencias son muy importantes ya que se va teniendo en cuenta pruebas que posiblemente antes no se hicieron o para encontrar detalles o bug en la implementación que un test automatico no permitiria.

Create diverse, real-life scenarios that users might encounter. This approach helps in testing the application in a holistic manner and identifying defects related to complex user interactions.

En mi trabajo las pruebas automatizadas se dificultan porque el sistema debe estar estable, es decir que no se sigan haciendo cambios en esa interfaz para lograr un buen test automatizado, en el caso de no ser estable para generar ese test, es convieniente seguir con las pruebas manuales.

Use automated tools to generate dynamic and diverse test data for automated tests. This ensures a broader coverage of test cases and helps in uncovering defects that might be data-specific.

If your stories have coverage of automated tests, then each change or new requirement can pretty well be covered by automated testing too. e.g In one story if the form was built and you have configured happy path automated tests, in the second story when the validations are added in those forms, writing extra assertions against those forms are easier than testing same form manually. The strategy should be to build automated test scripts as you build software. Try to shift it left to developers if your testers don't have enough time to build those tests. With latest open source tools , it is getting easier to build automated tests.

The main thing about collaboration for quality is to have a broader perspective of overall testing, it is important not only to work within your testing team to brainstorm a comprehensive coverage,but also it is very critical to work with business partners, end users of the application and also the developers to understand the real time basic workflows, critical scenarios, edge scenarios that are used on a day to day basis in business and technical scenarios that might have been impacted due to the code changes that are being done. Looking at test coverage through all these lenses is critical to the successful delivery.

Collaboration is the key to build a quality software. It pays if you can engage business or end user to give you feedback for each story. Three amigos concept where BAs , testers and developers work together to define acceptance criteria of the stories is a very effective way of building software too.

Collaborating more means working closely with others, sharing ideas, and pooling resources to achieve common goals. It involves fostering teamwork, communication, and cooperation among team members to leverage each other's strengths and expertise. By collaborating more, individuals can tap into a collective knowledge base, generate innovative solutions, and accomplish tasks more efficiently and effectively. Collaboration encourages mutual support, trust, and accountability within the team, leading to greater productivity, creativity, and success in achieving shared objectives.

Organize bug hunts where members from different teams (e.g., marketing, customer support) participate in testing sessions. Their unique insights can lead to the discovery of defects that regular testers might miss.

One thing I've found helpful is integrating diverse expertise from developers, testers, UX designers, and users. An example I've seen is how this synergy uncovers hidden issues, enhances defect detection, and drives continuous improvement, leading to more robust applications. Actually, I disagree with the notion that only formal testing methods are effective. Informal discussions often reveal critical insights. An example I've seen is a cross-functional team meeting where a UX designer's input led to the discovery of a significant usability defect. Regular collaboration not only fosters shared responsibility but also accelerates the identification and resolution of potential issues, ensuring a high-quality product.

Reflecting regularly is essential to uncover hidden defects in an application by thinking outside the box. By periodically reviewing testing strategies and outcomes, testers can identify patterns, missed opportunities, and potential areas for improvement. This reflection fosters a creative mindset, enabling testers to think beyond standard procedures and consider unconventional scenarios. Regular reflection sessions, combined with team discussions, can reveal new perspectives and innovative testing approaches, ultimately enhancing the ability to detect hidden defects in the application.

Implement and review metrics such as defect density, test coverage, and user-reported issues regularly. Use these metrics to guide reflection sessions and identify areas for improvement in your testing approach.

User perspective testing is all about seeing the application through the eyes of real users. By involving a diverse group of people through crowdsourced testing, you get to see how the app performs in different environments and usage patterns that your team might not have thought of. On top of that, try putting yourself in the shoes of different types of users, like a complete beginner, a tech-savvy pro, or someone who's in a rush. This way, you can discover how the app handles different behaviors and needs, uncovering usability issues and hidden bugs that might not show up in regular testing.

Leverage crowdtesting platforms to involve a diverse group of external testers. This can help in uncovering defects that might not be visible to internal teams due to familiarity with the application.