Imagine you have a big puzzle to solve, and you don't have any instructions. You start by picking a piece and trying to fit it into the puzzle. If it doesn't fit, you pick another piece and keep trying until you find one that does.
That's kind of what ad hoc testing is like. It's when you test something without any specific plan or instructions. You just start testing by trying different things and seeing what happens.
For example, if you're testing a new video game, you might start by clicking on different buttons and seeing what happens. You might try moving the character around, jumping, and shooting to see if everything works correctly.
Ad hoc testing is different from other types of testing because you don't have a set plan to follow. Instead, you rely on your own intuition and curiosity to search for potential issues. While it might be less organized than other types of testing, ad hoc testing can help catch unexpected errors that might have been missed otherwise.
So, ad hoc testing is like exploring and tinkering to find out what works and what doesn't, without any specific instructions to follow.