AI-Driven Exploratory Testing: Augmenting Human Creativity

Modern software systems are increasingly complex, making it difficult for testers to identify critical defects quickly and efficiently through traditional exploratory methods. At Deloitte, Kelwyn and his team faced the challenge of scaling exploratory testing to keep pace with rapid development cycles and ever-evolving user expectations. Manual approaches alone struggled to prioritize risk areas and optimize tester focus. To address this, Kelwyn's team integrated AI-driven tools into their exploratory testing process. These tools analyzed historical defect patterns, code changes, and user behavior to suggest targeted test paths and highlight high-risk components. By combining AI insights with human intuition, Deloitte's teams accelerated defect discovery and improved test coverage—reducing cycle times by up to 30% and uncovering issues that would have otherwise been missed. Key lessons learned include: the importance of maintaining tester autonomy, fostering trust in AI recommendations, and ensuring transparency in decision-making. Attendees will leave this session with actionable strategies for blending human creativity with AI support, practical guidance on tool adoption, and real-world examples of how this approach can elevate software quality and team performance in any organization.