Field notes·13 June 2026 · 7 min read
How to test when requirements are unclear
A field-tested approach for testing a story when the acceptance criteria are vague, missing, or contradictory.
manual-qarequirements
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Field notes.
Real stories from real test suites. The numbers, the failures, the fixes that stuck.
Field notes·13 June 2026 · 8 min read
Risk-based testing when everything is urgent
How to prioritise testing when the timeline just got cut in half and everything is labelled critical.
test-managementrisk-basedprioritisation
Field notes·13 June 2026 · 8 min read
How I test an API before the UI is ready
The API ships weeks before the screen. Test it directly from the contract — the whole bad-input, auth, and edge class is open at the API and invisible once the UI hides it.
api-testingshift-leftprocess
Field notes·13 June 2026 · 6 min read
What I check before saying a story is ready for QA
A 30-second readiness check before accepting a ticket into QA — testable criteria, defined edge cases, reachable build, known data — that replaces a day of back-and-forth.
manual-testingprocessdefinition-of-readychecklist
Field notes·13 June 2026 · 6 min read
The QA notes I keep during sprint testing
The working log that isn't a bug report or a test case — coverage, open questions, un-reproducible anomalies, painful setup — that makes a tester faster and more credible.
manual-testingprocessnote-takingsprint
Field notes·13 June 2026 · 7 min read
Performance bugs that look like functional bugs
Dead buttons, random logouts, missing data — often timing problems in disguise. The tell is intermittent and worse under load; check latency before debugging logic.
performance-testingbugsdebuggingfield-note
Field notes·13 June 2026 · 8 min read
How to say 'not ready for release' without drama
Frame it as risk for the owner to decide, not a veto: specific, reproduced, impact-led, with options attached — surfaced early, not as a sign-off-meeting ambush.
test-managementcommunicationreleaserisk
Field notes·28 March 2026 · 8 min read
The week our flaky-test rate dropped from 18% to 2%
Our CI was failing 18% of runs to flakes we'd stopped looking at. One week, four changes, no new tests. Here's what we actually did.
flaky-testscypressci-cd