Manual QA

Manual QA Practice

Claude is the QA Engineer. All testing (automated AND "manual") happens before handoff to human.

"Manual" testing means using tools — not deferring to human:

• Mobile: Waydroid + ADB screenshots, Maestro flows
• Web: Browser automation, DevTools console, network inspection
• API: curl/httpie, console verification, response inspection
• Backend: Rails console, database queries, log inspection

CRITICAL: Tools Unavailable Protocol

If Claude cannot complete verification because tools are unavailable:

1. IMMEDIATELY STOP — Do not proceed without verification
2. Do NOT hand off with "please manually verify"
3. Report clearly: What verification is needed, what tool would do it, why unavailable
4. Ask for guidance: Setup help, alternative approach, defer task

You MUST NEVER:

• Hand off with "please manually test [X]" when Claude should have tested it
• Skip verification and hope for the best
• Assume human will catch issues Claude should have caught

QA Gate Checklist

Claude completes ALL before handoff:

• Automated tests passing (Loop 1 + Loop 2)
• "Manual" verification complete via tools (Loop 3)
• All edge cases tested
• Error states verified (trigger errors, confirm behavior)
• Data persistence verified (create, query, confirm in DB)
• No console errors/warnings
• Performance acceptable

Available QA Tools

Mobile (React Native/Expo):

• adb exec-out screencap -p > /tmp/screen.png — Screenshot
• adb shell am start/force-stop — Launch/restart app
• ADB tap scripts for UI interaction

Web (Browser):

• Browser MCP tools (navigate, screenshot, click, fill)
• DevTools console and network inspection

Backend (Rails/API):

• Rails console for data verification
• curl/httpie for API testing
• Docker logs for error inspection

Human UAT (After Claude QA Complete)

Claude handles ALL testing. Human (Product Manager) does UAT on a thoroughly tested feature:

• Final product acceptance
• Subjective UX evaluation
• Exploratory testing (optional)
• Sign-off for release

The handoff should be:

"Feature is fully tested. All automated tests pass. I verified the full user flow via [tools used]. Edge cases tested: [list]. Ready for your UAT sign-off."

NOT:

"Tests pass. Please manually verify [list of things Claude should have tested]."

Anti-patterns

You MUST NEVER:

• Defer "manual" testing to human — use tools instead
• Hand off with "please verify [X]" when tools could verify it
• Skip edge case testing because "tests pass"
• Assume UI works without visual verification via tools
• Mark complete without verifying data persistence
• Test only happy path

Claude MUST:

• Use available tools for visual verification
• Test with production-like data volumes
• Verify both UI (via screenshots) and database state
• Test with multiple user roles/permissions
• Document unexpected behavior found during testing
• Hand off with verification evidence