In Exploratory Software Testing, leading software testing expert James A. Whittaker reveals the real causes of today's most serious, well-hidden software bugs - and introduces powerful new "exploratory" techniques for uncovering them. Drawing on nearly two decades of experience working at the cutting edge of testing with Google, Microsoft, IBM, and Florida Tech, Whittaker introduces powerful new processes for manual testing that are repeatable, prescriptive, teachable, and effective. Whittaker identifies various types of exploratory testing, then shows when to use each, how to use them all successfully, and how to integrate them with existing automated testing methods. Concise, entertaining, and actionable, this book guides software professionals on the tactical and strategic decisions that can make or break their testing processes. Whittaker shows how to make manual testing more effective and less boring; offers specific guidance on choosing test cases; and shows how to reflect feedback from the development process. Above all, Exploratory Software Testing shows how to uncover the hidden "show-stopper" bugs that so often evade conventional testing.