Reproduce

Goal

Make a problem occur on demand, and make it visible. A problem can be a bug, a slow operation, a failure, or any behavior that is not correct. When the check exists, you can confirm the problem, find its cause, and prove a fix.

Steps

1. Find the exact symptom. Write down what the user saw, what they expected, and the conditions.
2. Make a check. The check is a set of steps that you can run again in the same way, for example a test, a script, or browser steps. It fails on the symptom that the user saw. For a performance or quality problem, the check measures the current state against a target. Use the same surface as the report.
3. Capture evidence. Use screenshots, screen recordings, logs, or measurements. Record where and when you captured each item.
4. Run the check again after a change. Use the same steps on the new target, for example a branch or production. Show the before and after results together.

Rules

• If you cannot reproduce the problem, do not guess the cause. Tell the user what you tried and what you need.
• In production, only read. Get approval from the user before you change real data.
• Remove secrets and personal data from all evidence.