Is exploratory testing a solo practice? Is only the QA team responsible for quality? Are the great insights of an exploratory session shared with the team? We’ve been asking ourselves and our users these questions and we’re happy to launch version 3 of the Xray Exploratory App, designed to establish the foundations of collaboration in exploratory testing.
Xray Exploratory App was developed with a clear mission: to simplify the exploratory testing process. By bringing together all the essential tools for documenting our activities, we can stay focused on testing without unnecessary disruptions. This led to exploratory testing finally becoming an integral part of the testing process, officially documented and properly reported on. As exploratory testing became widely adopted, we observed the need to share its advantages and unite more team members around its practice.
We’re happy to take the first step in making exploratory testing a collaborative practice by introducing team workspaces.
Quality should belong to more than just the QA team. Great software quality requires input from diverse perspectives and the skills of developers, product managers, and business roles. Exploratory testing is a test approach that anyone can use, regardless of their knowledge and experience, and it is the perfect start for members outside the QA team to own quality.
With team workspaces, Xray creates a unified hub for all exploratory testing sessions. A single space that unites all efforts and insights and allows any member to contribute to quality.
Find the right test by easily switching workspaces
While your test cases are neatly organized in our test management software, most exploratory testing sessions are often not centralized or saved anywhere. The Xray Exploratory App team workspace is a hub for all exploration efforts, where you and your colleagues can view, edit, and manage any exploratory session. This is the perfect place to organize team activities like bug bashes or pair testing. With well-documented sessions, you’ll never again lose the great ideas and insights you had during testing.
Navigate all your team's exploratory testing sessions
“The team workspace feature has been a valuable asset for our team. It is a convenient way to view and organize all our exploratory sessions, making our efforts more visible and organized. The accessibility from anywhere is definitely a plus. Overall, it's made a positive impact on our workflow and collaboration. Definitely worth checking out.”
QA Lead at a Software Development company (Beta Program participant)
Starting an exploratory test session can be intimidating, especially for newcomers. However, with the Xray Exploratory App, learning this practice becomes accessible to anyone. With test charters guiding the testing process, along with all the necessary tools for recording bugs and the activity timeline, grasping exploratory testing becomes easy, regardless of one's experience level.
“This was the first time I used any tool to record my exploratory testing sessions. Having the possibility to record videos, write notes, and add other media types to the timeline is very helpful. My test documentation is now better and easier to analyze. The process is seamless and efficient, with a minimal learning curve.”
Senior QA Engineer at a Financial Technology Firm (Beta Program participant)
Inside a team workspace, you can create a library of charters. To create a charter template, you just have to save a session with pre-filled information in the charter area. Your colleagues can then copy the session and instantly use it. This practice is helpful as it saves time and ensures consistency in testing approaches. No more starting from scratch. Everyone can start exploratory testing faster and keep strategy consistent across the board.
Open a template and see the pre-filled charter
“I always have a hard time starting an exploratory testing session because I end up exploring the same way, without meaningful findings. I like using test charter templates, and I always ask my colleagues about the charters they use. Having a common library in the team workspace makes starting testing much easier and my bug-hunting sharper.”
QA Specialist at a Mobile App Development Startup (Beta Program participant)
With the new version, we are bringing the app storage to the cloud to make exploratory testing results easily accessible. Moreover, cloud storage opens the door for more collaboration since all tests, charters and sessions are centralized and readily available.
Open any session from cloud
“I like the cloud storage and management option, it makes it easier to share sessions with my teammates. That's the biggest plus with the new version.”
QA Engineer at a Cloud Computing Enterprise (Beta Program participant)
With the changes version 3 brings to the Xray Exploratory App, it’s now easier to collaborate asynchronously. With all the sessions centralized in the team workspace, your colleagues can open, access, and contribute to your session. This is also helpful in pair-testing sessions, where you have the scribe role and gather test evidence and insights, all neatly organized in the session’s timeline.
“Multiple users contributing to the same timeline is useful to avoid rework. When I’m pair-testing and documenting the findings, the timeline helps me see each one’s contribution and makes it super easy to track.”
QA Manager at a E-commerce Platform (Beta Program participant)
Re-open a test session and contribute with your insights
You can seamlessly pause your exploratory test session at any point, ensuring no crucial insights are lost, even amidst interruptions. Returning to your exploratory test session later is hassle-free, you just pick up right where you left off by opening the session from the cloud and clicking resume.
“With priorities constantly shifting, it was difficult to keep track of all the details from our test sessions. However, with the Xray Exploratory App's recording capabilities, I can rest assured that every test I conduct is securely logged into our department's data repository.
Also, pausing test sessions and resuming them later has been a lifesaver. This flexibility ensures no details are lost or forgotten, even when interruptions occur.”
Test Engineer at a Cybersecurity Company (Beta Program participant)
Great software needs testers, developers, and managers working together. Xray Exploratory App 3 brings your team into a unified space for exploratory testing, where everyone can join in, share their findings, and learn from each other. Start using it for free, and don’t forget to invite your team.