Postman is a wonderful tool for calling and testing APIs. Usually we use it to check our expectations. But it can be used for much more than just checking what we know – we can explore the behavior of our APIs, and see how they behave in different situations.

In this 1-day course, we’re going to go into exploration mode: What is exploration testing, when and how to use it, and how to include it in out testing cycles.

Then we’re going to use Postman to explore our APIs. Given an API-based application, we’re going to test the behavior of the different APIs, and learn how to use the answers, as well as how to report them. Finally, we’re going to complete the cycle by automating some of the tests, turning them into a regression suite.

Understanding API exploration is crucial in an age where most applications expose hundreds of APIs. Given that complexity, we need to embed API exploratory testing as a first-class tool in our testing toolbelt, and in this workshop we’ll see this kind of real-world implementation.

Audience: Testers and developers.

Course total length: 1 day.

Remote and on-site options.

Course goals

Following the workshop, attendees will be able to:

  • Explain the principles of exploratory tests
  • Plan an exploratory session
  • Use Postman to conduct exploratory tests on APIs
  • Report and make recommendations based on the finding
  • Implement exploratory sessions into their testing plans

    Course agenda

    • Introduction to exploratory testing
    • Exploratory testing vs procedural testing
    • Automation and exploratory tests
    • The complexity of API testing
    • Principles of preparations for an exploratory session
    • Charters
    • Postman crash course
    • A simple exploratory session
    • Reporting findings
    • Testing multiple APIs based on a charter
    • Exploration within a release
    • From exploration to automation

     Prerequisites

    • Attendees need to have their own computers ready and download the exercises beforehand.
    • Basic automation / programming skills
    • Basic knowledge of APIs

    For more questions, contact us!