Every app will return an error if you’re brave enough. Ranging from “No internet connection” to “[ERROR_MESSAGE_ES]”, these annoying interruptions during the user’s interaction with the app are all set out to make the testing process more confusing than it needs to be... Or are they?
A short message displayed as an overlay on top of the page you were navigating can sometimes be a blessing. We’ll explain why that’s the case in a minute! For now, let’s see what options there are to deal with error messages in Exploratory test rounds as well as Test case executions.
EXPLORATORY TEST
During these rounds of “guided exploration” inside different apps, it’s only natural you’re going to be encountering some unexpected errors.
The first thing we recommend doing when encountering an error (be it generic or more technical) is checking the Test Spec to see whether it’s been documented!
It may be that the error is known and there are instructions to bypass it or there are instructions on how to report that error as a bug if encountered. Simply use the “Find” function of the Google Document by simultaneously pressing the following keys: CTRL (CMD on Mac) + F or scroll through the document manually, paying extra attention to the “In scope”, “What Not to test” and “Known issues” sections.
The error you’re seeing isn’t mentioned in the Test Spec? In most cases, this is where we’d start writing up a bug report.
However, there are cases when you shouldn’t be jumping to bug reports straight away. Some errors are triggered because of unusual user behavior - these should not be reported as bugs, because they aren’t part of the normal user’s experience within the app.
For example, uploading an excel (.xlsx) file as a profile picture in a social media app instead of an image is considered unusual user behavior, and the error you’re receiving following that action is not a valid bug. The normal flow would be for the user to upload a picture, as that’s what they are explicitly instructed to do. Thus, in this case, you should ignore the error and adjust your testing methods to reflect something a normal user should do in the app. We’ll also approach cases where the error is part of normal user flow and you should report a bug, but first let’s cover the Test case executions scenario.
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