Challenging Logins | Structured login testing with charters | Exploratory Testing

Note: From the below post, "Prompt Template" and "Example Usage" are for you to copy/modify/reuse. The remaining fields are added for you to gain more knowledge about the Prompt. Happy learning!

Challenging Logins | Structured login testing with charters | Exploratory Testing | Instructional Prompt

Purpose
Challenging Logins | Structured login testing with charters | Exploratory Testing | Instructional Prompt

QE Category
Exploratory Testing

Prompt Type
Instructional

Typical SUTs and Quality Phases
Exploratory testing during test planning and execution -- leveraging formal instructions for structured testing.

Prompt Template

Role: Professional exploratory tester providing structured guidance.
Context: You are testing login workflows to uncover vulnerabilities and ensure seamless authentication processes.
Task: Follow these instructions to perform exploratory testing effectively:
1. Define a charter focused on [Login Edge Cases]. For example:
- Empty username or password fields.
- SQL injection payloads in input fields.
2. Test session management scenarios under [Specific Conditions], such as:
- Token expiration during user activity.
- Simultaneous logins from multiple devices.
3. Document observations, failure-prone insights, and potential improvement areas.
4. Create test ideas based on uncovered behaviors and refine them iteratively.
Instructions: Request the output in the following format:
- Charter: [Brief description of the mission, e.g., Investigate edge cases in login workflows.]
- Test Ideas: [Bulleted list of creative and actionable scenarios.]
- Hypothesis/Probing: [Key experiments to try based on the charter and test ideas.]
Output: Generate exploratory tests with the following details:
- Test Charter
- Hypothesis
- Challenges
- Test Ideas
- Approximate Timebox
- TODO: Ask the tester to log observations and share results.
Output: Generate exploratory tests with the following details:
- Test Charter
- Hypothesis
- Challenges
- Test Ideas
- Approximate Timebox
- TODO: Ask the tester to log observations and share results.
Output: Generate exploratory tests with the following details:
- Test Charter
- Hypothesis
- Challenges
- Test Ideas
- Approximate Timebox
- TODO: Ask the tester to log observations and share results.

Example Usage

Role: Professional exploratory tester providing structured guidance.
Context: You are testing login workflows to uncover vulnerabilities and ensure seamless authentication processes.
Task: Follow these instructions to perform exploratory testing effectively:
1. Define a charter focused on login edge cases. For example:
- Test how the system handles empty username or password fields.
- Explore behavior when SQL injection payloads like ' OR '1'='1'-- are entered.
2. Test session management scenarios under specific conditions, such as:
- Analyze token expiration during active file uploads.
- Investigate how simultaneous logins from different devices are handled.
3. Document observations, failure-prone insights, and potential improvement areas.
4. Create test ideas based on uncovered behaviors and refine them iteratively.
Output Format:
- Charter: Investigate edge cases in login workflows to identify vulnerabilities.
- Test Ideas:
- Test empty username or password fields.
- Enter SQL injection payloads to analyze input handling.
- Analyze behavior during token expiration while files are being uploaded.
- Test simultaneous logins from multiple devices.
- Hypothesis/Probing:
- How does the system sanitize SQL injection payloads?
- What happens when token expiration interrupts a user action?
- Can simultaneous logins lead to session hijacking or token collisions?
Output: Generate exploratory tests with the following details:
- Test Charter
- Hypothesis
- Challenges
- Test Ideas
- Approximate Timebox
- TODO: Ask the tester to log observations and share results.
Output: Generate exploratory tests with the following details:
- Test Charter
- Hypothesis
- Challenges
- Test Ideas
- Approximate Timebox
- TODO: Ask the tester to log observations and share results.

Tested in GenAI Tools
Extensively optimized for ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, and Perplexity -- delivering reliable and actionable results across leading GenAI platforms.

Customized Prompt Engineering Techniques

Add variations to charters that focus on critical paths -- such as password resets.
Request GenAI to suggest exploratory scenarios involving multi-factor authentication failures.
Include domain-specific test ideas to make the output more applicable to your system under test.

Value of the Prompt
Guides testers with a structured approach to exploratory testing -- ensuring actionable and comprehensive coverage of critical login workflows.

Tips and Best Practices

Use clear charters to narrow focus and enhance efficiency during exploratory testing.
Encourage testers to iteratively refine test ideas based on real-time observations.
Document insights meticulously to inform future test plans.

Hands-On Exercise
Test a ride-sharing app's login workflows using structured charters. Start with edge cases like empty inputs and proceed to advanced scenarios like token expiration during active sessions.

Appendix and Additional Information

Further Reading -- 'Lessons Learned in Software Testing' by Cem Kaner, James Bach, and Bret Pettichord. This book emphasizes structured approaches like charters -- making it relevant for instructional prompts.
Additional Learning -- Explore advanced test planning techniques for distributed systems and multi-device scenarios.

Want More?
Challenge GenAI to create exploratory charters for advanced authentication methods -- like biometric logins or OAuth-based integrations.

Author
Ashwin Palaparthi

[kkstarratings]

10x Smarter Testing with AI

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