Testing Techniques Library
Every technique you’ll use across your career — from smoke testing on day one to risk-based planning as a lead. Each entry maps to ISTQB and tells you which level it belongs to.
Black Box Techniques
Specification-based. Tests what the system does — no knowledge of internal code required.
Equivalence Partitioning
Divide inputs into groups where all values should behave identically. Test one value per group instead of every value.
Boundary Value Analysis
Test the edges of equivalence partitions. Most bugs hide at the boundary — at, just below, and just above the limit.
Decision Table Testing
Map every combination of conditions to expected outcomes. Essential for complex business logic with multiple rules.
State Transition Testing
Model a system as a set of states and transitions. Ensure every valid path is tested and invalid transitions are rejected.
Use Case Testing
Derive test cases from use case flows — happy path, alternate paths, and exception flows — from the user’s perspective.
Cause-Effect Graphing
Visual technique that maps causes (inputs/conditions) to effects (outputs/actions). Systematic predecessor to decision tables.
Pairwise / Combinatorial
Test all possible pairs of input parameters rather than every combination. Dramatically reduces test count while maintaining coverage.
Domain Analysis
Advanced extension of EP and BVA — analyses input/output domains together to find inter-variable dependencies.
White Box Techniques
Structure-based. Tests how the system works — requires visibility into code or architecture.
Statement Coverage
Execute every executable statement in the code at least once. The most basic white box metric — a 100% floor, not a ceiling.
Branch Coverage
Every branch from every decision point is exercised — both true and false outcomes. Stronger than statement coverage.
Condition Coverage
Each individual boolean condition is evaluated as both true and false, regardless of the overall decision outcome.
Path Coverage
Tests every possible execution path through the code. Theoretically complete but often impractical — exponential path growth.
Experience-Based Techniques
Skill and intuition-driven. Not a replacement for systematic testing — a complement to it.
Smoke Testing
Quick confidence check: does the build work at all? Walk the happy path before committing to deep testing.
Exploratory Testing
Simultaneous test design and execution, guided by learning. Charter-based sessions, not random clicking.
Checklist-Based Testing
Structured lists of things to check — built from experience, standards, and known failure modes. Living documents.
Error Guessing
Anticipate where the system is likely to fail based on experience. Fault lists, defect taxonomies, and intuition.
Management & Process Techniques
The skills that scale a team: planning, estimating, prioritising, and improving.
Risk-Based Testing
Use risk exposure (likelihood × impact) to prioritise test effort. Test the most important things first.
Test Estimation
Forecast effort, duration, and resource needs. WBS, three-point estimation, metrics-based, and expert judgement.
Defect Management
The full bug lifecycle: discovery, classification, prioritisation, reporting, root cause analysis, and closure.
Regression Testing
Verify that changes haven’t broken what was already working. Selection strategies and automation trade-offs.
Test Metrics & Reporting
KPIs, coverage metrics, defect density, test execution rate, and how to present them to stakeholders.
Test Planning
Scope, approach, entry/exit criteria, schedule, resources, risks, and the master test plan document.
Accessibility, API & Security Testing
Testing qualities beyond functional correctness: security, accessibility, and API contracts.
Accessibility Testing
WCAG 2.1 compliance, screen reader compatibility, keyboard navigation, colour contrast, and ARIA validation.
API Testing
Validate HTTP contracts, status codes, request/response schemas, authentication, and error handling.
Security Testing
OWASP Top 10, injection flaws, broken authentication, information disclosure, and the NZ Privacy Act 2020.
Agile Techniques Library
22 agile practices from Scrum to SAFe — ceremonies, planning, XP engineering practices, agile testing, and scaling frameworks.
ISTQB mapped
to every level
Each level in this bootcamp aligns to an ISTQB certification. The library technique pages show you exactly which syllabus section covers each concept.