Ad-hoc Testing

Ad-hoc Testing is an informal and unstructured type of software testing where the tester performs tests without any pre-defined test cases, planning, or documentation. It’s often done on the fly, based on the tester’s intuition, experience, or knowledge of the application. The goal is to find defects in an unscripted, spontaneous manner by exploring the system in different ways.

Key characteristics of Ad-hoc testing include:

1. No Planning or Documentation: There are no formal test cases or test plans.
2. Exploratory: Testers interact with the application in an exploratory way, trying different inputs, workflows, and scenarios.
3. Tester-Driven: The testing process is largely driven by the tester’s own insights and experience.
4. Quick and Flexible: It allows for rapid defect discovery in situations where more formal testing may not be feasible or when time is limited.

While ad-hoc testing can be effective for finding issues that might not be covered in planned test cases, it can be less reliable and harder to reproduce because it lacks structured documentation. It is often used as a complementary method to other more formal testing strategies.