gstack/qa/references/issue-taxonomy.md

QA Issue Taxonomy

Severity Levels

Severity	Definition	Examples
critical	Blocks a core workflow, causes data loss, or crashes the app	Form submit causes error page, checkout flow broken, data deleted without confirmation
high	Major feature broken or unusable, no workaround	Search returns wrong results, file upload silently fails, auth redirect loop
medium	Feature works but with noticeable problems, workaround exists	Slow page load (>5s), form validation missing but submit still works, layout broken on mobile only
low	Minor cosmetic or polish issue	Typo in footer, 1px alignment issue, hover state inconsistent

Categories

1. Visual/UI

• Layout breaks (overlapping elements, clipped text, horizontal scrollbar)
• Broken or missing images
• Incorrect z-index (elements appearing behind others)
• Font/color inconsistencies
• Animation glitches (jank, incomplete transitions)
• Alignment issues (off-grid, uneven spacing)
• Dark mode / theme issues

2. Functional

• Broken links (404, wrong destination)
• Dead buttons (click does nothing)
• Form validation (missing, wrong, bypassed)
• Incorrect redirects
• State not persisting (data lost on refresh, back button)
• Race conditions (double-submit, stale data)
• Search returning wrong or no results

3. UX

• Confusing navigation (no breadcrumbs, dead ends)
• Missing loading indicators (user doesn't know something is happening)
• Slow interactions (>500ms with no feedback)
• Unclear error messages ("Something went wrong" with no detail)
• No confirmation before destructive actions
• Inconsistent interaction patterns across pages
• Dead ends (no way back, no next action)

4. Content

• Typos and grammar errors
• Outdated or incorrect text
• Placeholder / lorem ipsum text left in
• Truncated text (cut off without ellipsis or "more")
• Wrong labels on buttons or form fields
• Missing or unhelpful empty states

5. Performance

• Slow page loads (>3 seconds)
• Janky scrolling (dropped frames)
• Layout shifts (content jumping after load)
• Excessive network requests (>50 on a single page)
• Large unoptimized images
• Blocking JavaScript (page unresponsive during load)

6. Console/Errors

• JavaScript exceptions (uncaught errors)
• Failed network requests (4xx, 5xx)
• Deprecation warnings (upcoming breakage)
• CORS errors
• Mixed content warnings (HTTP resources on HTTPS)
• CSP violations

7. Accessibility

• Missing alt text on images
• Unlabeled form inputs
• Keyboard navigation broken (can't tab to elements)
• Focus traps (can't escape a modal or dropdown)
• Missing or incorrect ARIA attributes
• Insufficient color contrast
• Content not reachable by screen reader

Per-Page Exploration Checklist

For each page visited during a QA session:

1. Visual scan — Take annotated screenshot (snapshot -i -a -o). Look for layout issues, broken images, alignment.
2. Interactive elements — Click every button, link, and control. Does each do what it says?
3. Forms — Fill and submit. Test empty submission, invalid data, edge cases (long text, special characters).
4. Navigation — Check all paths in/out. Breadcrumbs, back button, deep links, mobile menu.
5. States — Check empty state, loading state, error state, full/overflow state.
6. Console — Run console --errors after interactions. Any new JS errors or failed requests?
7. Responsiveness — If relevant, check mobile and tablet viewports.
8. Auth boundaries — What happens when logged out? Different user roles?