Automating Test Design with a Little Help from Generative AI

Rob Sabourin has spent over four decades pioneering automated test design across a wide range of technology stacks. More recently, he’s been exploring the power, promise—and occasional perversity—of applying Generative AI to the challenges of test design.  In this lively and hands-on tutorial, Rob shares practical lessons from his experience using Generative AI to address real-world testing problems. From success stories and failures to unexpected surprises, he offers a candid look at what works, what doesn’t, and why. You will explore a variety of proven test design techniques, including: combinations, permutations, selections, path analysis, pairwise analysis, decision tables, data validation, checksumming, and randomizing. The tutorial includes several collaborative test design exercises using the community edition of ChatGPT, along with Python, PICT, and Excel. Participants will receive electronic copies of all examples and case studies discussed. The central takeaway? Generative AI can be a powerful aid in the hands of a thoughtful tester—but it’s no replacement for critical thinking and a firm grasp of core test design principles. Attendees will gain insights into how various aspects of Generative AI can be effectively applied to test design, while avoiding common pitfalls and limitations of large language models.

These activities require you to bring a laptop with internet access via any modern web browser.