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qa-manual-testing

Manual scripted + exploratory testing: 14 skills (bug-bash-facilitator, crusspic-stmpl-heuristic, decision-table-test-design, exploratory-tours-reference, fcc-cuts-vids-heuristic, hiccupps-f-heuristic, manual-test-debrief, manual-test-script-author, manual-testing-getting-started, sbtm-reference, sfdpot-heuristic, state-transition-test-design, test-execution-checklist, uat-script-author) and 3 agents (charter-coach, session-debrief-coach, test-script-quality-critic). Covers SBTM, Whittaker's seven tours, Bach + Bolton's heuristic catalogues (HICCUPPS-F oracles, SFDPOT variation, FCC CUTS VIDS modelling, CRUSSPIC STMPL quality criteria), UAT, bug bashes, and PROOF debriefs.

Install this plugin

/plugin install qa-manual-testing@testland-qa
View source

Part of role bundles: qa-starter, qa-role-manual-tester

qa-manual-testing

Manual scripted + exploratory testing. Covers session-based exploratory testing per Jonathan and James Bach's SBTM, tour-based exploration heuristics per Whittaker's seven canonical tours, scripted manual test authoring, UAT scripts in stakeholder format, bug-bash facilitation, and structured PROOF debriefs.

Components

TypeNameDescription
Skillmanual-test-script-authorBuild-an-X scripted manual test cases - step-table or Gherkin format with self-contained data and per-step expected results.
Skilltest-execution-checklistBuild-an-X focused checklists for smoke / first-pass / bug-bash / compliance scenarios.
Skillexploratory-tours-referencePure-reference catalog of the seven canonical Whittaker tours: Feature, Money, Landmark, Intellectual, Bad-data, Configuration, Garbage collector.
Skillbug-bash-facilitatorBuild-an-X structured multi-tester session: pre-bash kit + cohort charters + real-time triage board + scoring + post-bash cluster debrief.
Skilluat-script-authorBuild-an-X UAT scripts in stakeholder-readable business language: pre-conditions + journey steps + expected outcomes + AC verification + sign-off.
Skillmanual-test-debriefBuild-an-X session debrief in PROOF format (Past, Results, Obstacles, Outlook, Feelings) + 3-bucket time accounting + cross-session aggregation.
Skillsession-based-test-management-referencePure-reference catalog of Session-Based Test Management: charters, time-boxed sessions, TBS metrics.
Skillhiccupps-f-heuristicPure-reference catalog of Bolton's HICCUPPS-F oracle heuristic for deciding whether something is a problem.
Skillsfdpot-exploratory-heuristicPure-reference catalog of Bach's SFDPOT ("San Francisco Depot") product-element coverage heuristic.
Skillfcc-cuts-vids-heuristicPure-reference catalog of Michael Kelly's FCC CUTS VIDS touring heuristic for learning an unfamiliar application.
Skillcrusspic-stmpl-heuristicPure-reference catalog of Bach's CRUSSPIC STMPL twelve quality-criteria heuristic.
Skilldecision-table-test-designBuild-an-X manual test cases from business-rule specs via decision tables: full 2^n matrix, collapse, infeasible-combination analysis, one case per feasible column (ISTQB CTFL 4.2.3).
Skillstate-transition-test-designBuild-an-X manual test cases from stateful behavior: state table with invalid transitions, coverage-level choice (all states / 0-switch / 1-switch / all transitions), event-sequence cases (ISTQB CTFL 4.2.4).
Agentcharter-coachTurns a feature + risk areas into a well-formed SBTM exploratory charter (mission, areas, HICCUPPS-F oracles, SFDPOT elements, tours).
Agentsession-debrief-coachReviews a completed SBTM session sheet: PROOF completeness, TBS time-split health, and the recommended next charter.
Agenttest-script-quality-criticAdversarial review of authored manual scripts for vague preconditions, bundled steps, missing expected results, and imperative-where-declarative slots.
Skillmanual-testing-overviewJunior on-ramp: the SBTM charter to session to debrief path and when to use each heuristic.

Install

/plugin marketplace add testland/qa
/plugin install qa-manual-testing@testland-qa

Skills

bug-bash-facilitator

Builds a structured bug-bash session - pre-bash kit (charter, test-data prep, environment setup, sign-up sheet), in-bash structure (role rotation across cohorts, shared backlog board, real-time triage), scoring rubric (severity weighting, novelty bonus), and a post-bash same-day wrap-up authored by the facilitator (not a standalone debrief: for post-session writeups without a live bash, use manual-test-debrief). Use when a team needs a coordinated multi-tester sweep before a release or after a major change - converts an ad-hoc "everyone test for an hour" into a recorded, comparable session with deliverables.

crusspic-stmpl-heuristic

Pure-reference catalog of James Bach's CRUSSPIC STMPL heuristic - thirteen quality criteria (quality attributes / non-functional requirements) a tester can evaluate a system against. CRUSSPIC: Capability, Reliability, Usability, Security, Scalability, Performance, Installability, Compatibility. STMPL: Supportability, Testability, Maintainability, Portability, Localizability. Use when checking a product's quality attributes or non-functional requirements, or picking which quality characteristics a test session evaluates - a checklist for judging product quality holistically; complementary to the ISO/IEC 25010 software product-quality model.

decision-table-test-design

Derives human-readable manual test cases from a business-rule spec via a decision table: identify conditions and actions, build the full 2^n-column matrix, collapse columns with irrelevant entries, strike infeasible combinations, then emit one test case per remaining column (each feasible column is one coverage item per ISTQB CTFL v4.0 section 4.2.3). A deep single-technique walkthrough rather than a broad multi-lens case matrix; the output is manual step/expected cases rather than parameterized test code, and it covers how cases are derived rather than how a case record is structured. Use when a spec's outcome depends on interacting conditions (pricing, eligibility, discounts, routing rules) rather than the boundaries of a single input.

exploratory-tours-reference

Pure-reference catalog of the seven exploratory testing tours from Whittaker's Exploratory Software Testing (2009): Feature, Money, Landmark, Intellectual, Bad-data, Configuration, and Garbage-collector's, each a themed mission with the signal it surfaces and a worked example. Use as the menu a charter author picks session themes from. Distinct from the mnemonic catalogs sfdpot-exploratory-heuristic (what to vary) and hiccupps-f-heuristic (oracles), and from session-based-test-management-reference, which manages the sessions.

fcc-cuts-vids-heuristic

Pure-reference catalog of Michael Kelly's FCC CUTS VIDS touring heuristic (2005): eleven tours - Feature, Complexity, Claims, Configuration, User, Testability, Scenario, Variability, Interoperability, Data, Structure - each a reconnaissance sweep that builds familiarity with an unfamiliar application. Use when onboarding onto a product or opening a first session on an unknown area, before a charter is scoped. Distinct from exploratory-tours-reference (Whittaker's seven tours, which frame a bug-hunting mission on a product the tester already knows), sfdpot-exploratory-heuristic (what to vary), hiccupps-f-heuristic (oracles), and crusspic-stmpl-heuristic (quality criteria).

hiccupps-f-heuristic

Pure-reference catalog of Michael Bolton's HICCUPPS-F oracle heuristic - the reference points a tester consults to decide 'is this a bug?': History, Image, Comparable products, Claims, Users' desires, Product (internal consistency), Purpose, Standards/statutes, plus Familiar problems. Use mid-session to test an observation against each oracle. For what to VARY use sfdpot-exploratory-heuristic, for touring an unfamiliar product use fcc-cuts-vids-heuristic, for quality criteria use crusspic-stmpl-heuristic.

manual-test-debrief

Session debrief template + tour-coverage tracker - captures the SBTM PROOF format (Past, Results, Obstacles, Outlook, Feelings) plus three-bucket time accounting (test design / setup / bug investigation), the tours applied + areas covered + areas skipped, and the per-session quality-of-attention signal. Output is the artifact a charter delivers into; the team aggregates debriefs across sessions to track what's been explored vs what's still uncharted. Use after every exploratory session - without the debrief, the session's findings disappear.

manual-test-script-author

Builds stakeholder-readable scripted manual test cases from a feature spec - emits either a step-table format (preconditions / steps / expected result / actual / pass-fail / notes) for spreadsheet review or a Gherkin Given/When/Then format for BDD-aware teams. Each script is self-contained (no implicit team knowledge), single-scenario (one happy + N edge per script), and includes the data setup the tester needs without being a developer. Use when a feature can't be (or shouldn't be) fully automated and a human tester needs an executable script - UAT, regression baselines, certification testing, exploratory follow-up scripts.

manual-testing-overview

Teaches human-driven testing end to end: when a predefined scripted test case is the right instrument versus a time-boxed exploratory session, how session-based test management works (charter with a stated mission, time box, session notes, debrief) with a worked charter and a filled-in session sheet, a decision rule for what to automate versus what to keep human, and what makes a manual bug report actionable (exact reproduction steps, observed versus expected, build and environment, evidence). Use when planning or running testing a person performs by hand, writing a charter for an exploratory session, deciding whether a check belongs in an automated suite or in a human session, or fixing bug reports that developers keep returning as not reproducible.

session-based-test-management-reference

Pure-reference catalog of Session-Based Test Management (SBTM) - the Bachs' framework for running exploratory testing as time-boxed sessions: the session (60-90 min), the charter (Explore X with Y to discover Z), the session-sheet structure, the TBS metrics, the cross-session dashboard, and the PROOF debrief. Use when authoring exploratory-testing charters, reviewing session sheets, or setting up time-boxed test sessions. Distinct from manual-test-debrief (the PROOF debrief template), exploratory-tours-reference (the session themes), and the heuristic catalog hiccupps-f-heuristic.

sfdpot-exploratory-heuristic

Pure-reference catalog of James Bach's SFDPOT heuristic - 'San Francisco Depot' - a 'you are here' framework that catalogues what a tester can vary in a system to find bugs. Six dimensions: Structure, Function, Data, Platform, Operations, Time. Use as a what-to-vary checklist during an exploratory session, complementing HICCUPPS-F (which catalogues what to compare against).

state-transition-test-design

Derives human-readable manual test cases from stateful behavior: identify states, events, transitions, and guard conditions, draw the state table including invalid (empty-cell) transitions, choose a coverage level (all states, valid transitions / 0-switch, transition pairs / 1-switch per Chow, all transitions including invalid ones), then derive one test case per coverage item as an event sequence with per-step expected states (ISTQB CTFL v4.0 section 4.2.4). A deep single-technique walkthrough rather than a broad multi-lens case matrix; the output is manual step/expected cases rather than parameterized test code, and it covers how cases are derived rather than how a case record is structured. Use for lifecycle entities (accounts, orders, subscriptions), workflows, and UI wizards where the response to an event depends on the current state.

test-execution-checklist

Converts a regression suite (or test plan) into an executable manual checklist for cases when automation isn't viable - a release-day smoke checklist, a post-incident verification list, or a periodic compliance check. Outputs a per-TC checkbox list with the minimal preconditions, the action, and a one-line "what to look for" - short enough to fit on one page per major flow. Use when the team needs a focused human-runnable list (not full step-tables), e.g., for production smoke after deploy or for the on-call rotation's quick verification.

uat-script-author

Emits User Acceptance Testing scripts in stakeholder-readable format - pre-conditions / business-language steps / expected business outcome / pass-fail / sign-off. Tailored for non-developer testers (end users, SMEs, solution owners) per the UAT canonical definition. Output is one TC per stakeholder-meaningful scenario with explicit sign-off, suitable for compliance / contract / audit records. Use when a release requires formal UAT before sign-off - typical for B2B contracts, regulated industries, or any delivery where the customer's acceptance is the contractual gate.

Agents

charter-coach

Action-taking agent that converts a feature description and a set of risk areas into a well-formed SBTM exploratory charter - a ready-to-execute mission card with mission statement, scoped areas, applicable HICCUPPS-F oracles, SFDPOT product elements to vary, and 1-3 recommended tours - so a junior or mid-level manual tester can start a session without needing qa-roles installed. Use when a tester has a feature and a risk list but needs a structured charter before starting an exploratory session.

session-debrief-coach

Reviews a completed SBTM session sheet and coaches the tester on debrief quality: checks each PROOF field (Past/Results/Outlook/Obstacles/Feelings) for completeness, flags a thin or absent Feelings entry, detects when the TBS time split signals an environment problem (setup% > 30%), and recommends the next charter from the Outlook section. Use when a tester has filled in a session sheet and wants structured feedback before filing it - the reviewer half of the manual-testing loop that manual-test-debrief starts.

test-script-quality-critic

Adversarial critic for authored manual test scripts in this plugin's format (step-table or Gherkin, as produced by `manual-test-script-author` / `uat-script-author`). Inspects each script for vague preconditions, bundled multi-scenario steps, missing or ambiguous expected results, non-self-contained test data, and imperative UI mechanics where a declarative step belongs - the five anti-patterns documented in `manual-test-script-author`. Emits a per-script PASS or BLOCK verdict with flagged lines. Read-only. Use when a scripted manual test has been authored and needs a gate review before hand-off to testers or addition to the regression baseline. Distinct from `test-case-quality-auditor` (qa-process), which audits tracker exports and case matrices; this agent reviews authored execution scripts - the step-table or Gherkin artefacts the tester actually runs.

Related reading

Exploratory Testing and Session-Based Test Management