Heuristic-driven test ideas
Give the model a feature together with a specific test heuristic or quality characteristic, and have it generate test ideas through that lens rather than a generic list.
How it works
Asked plainly for test cases, a model returns the obvious happy paths and a few invalid inputs. Asked through a lens, it goes further: "what could go wrong with interruptions?", "apply the quality characteristics of security, then of compatibility", "what happens at zero, one and many?", "how could time — time zones, daylight saving, long-running sessions — break this?". Each heuristic narrows the search and pulls out ideas the generic prompt doesn't. Running several lenses in turn and merging the results gives a broader set than either the tester or the model would produce alone. The ideas are prompts for testing, not scripts: short statements of something worth trying.
When to use it
When test design feels stuck in the same patterns; for features where the team has little testing history; when training newer testers in how heuristics work; and to check a test plan for whole categories of risk that were never considered.
Limitations
The output is only as good as the lens chosen, and the model won't tell you which lenses you skipped. Many ideas will be irrelevant for the product or already covered, and sifting them takes time. The model knows the feature from its description, not from using it, so ideas that depend on how the product actually behaves — its quirks, timing, layout — are missing.
Watch for
Asked to check a plan for missing risk categories, the model calls security covered because one idea mentions logging in, and nobody looks further. Ask it to name the specific idea it counted against each category, and judge whether that idea would really test it.
What you still own
Choosing the heuristics, cutting the list to what's worth doing, and noticing which ideas only make sense once you've used the product.
Cite this
Qlarify Labs. (2026). Heuristic-driven test ideas. Retrieved from https://labs.qlarify.fi/ai-in-testing/heuristic-driven-test-ideas