Development of a teaching plan to support learning activities of exploratory test design and execution

Abstract

This Research Full Paper presents that nowadays it can see the growing evolution of the software development process, making agile methodologies commonly used. In this context, exploratory testing stands out as an alternative used in the industry to meet the needs of agile and / or short-term testing processes. However, professionals use this agile testing approach in an unstructured way, and this may be because they don't really understand how to apply it strategically where they can involve design and execution activities. In this context, this paper aims to present an approach that allows to apply the teaching of design and execution activities of exploratory test following structured procedures and aligned to the curricula (Brazilian and international) of the software engineering together with relevant practices in the industry. This study originates from a literature review, where important gaps are perceived to address exploratory testing education regarding design and execution activities. This involves the need to map the assets present in the curricula of the Brazilian Computer Society (SBC) and the Association for Machinery and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer (ACM / IEEE), as well as being guided by the practices prescribed in the TMMi, by have a process area dedicated to these activities. In addition, we highlight the importance of having conducted interviews with professionals to identify tools, techniques and work products commonly used in the industry so that all this supports the alignment between academic and industrial context. In this way, it was possible to develop a consistent program of studies that allowed the construction of a teaching plan involving active pedagogical practices so that students can "learn by doing" in a more interactive way, that is, provide a student-centered teaching and learning in order to make such an approach more beneficial to the student, conditioning them to obtain the competences and abilities expected in the industry.