From qa-manual-testing
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 post-bash debrief (cluster the bugs by area + severity, decide which surface as bugs vs spikes vs quirks). 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.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/qa-manual-testing:bug-bash-facilitatorThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
An unfacilitated bug bash is "everyone clicks around for an hour
An unfacilitated bug bash is "everyone clicks around for an hour and we hope something turns up." The result: lots of duplicates, no triage, debrief skipped, no record.
A facilitated bug bash is a structured exploratory session at team scale - multiple testers in coordinated cohorts, shared backlog visible to all, triage in real-time, debrief that produces follow-ups.
This skill builds the kit + structure + scoring + debrief.
If the goal is a single tester running a charter, use
exploratory-charter-author
directly. Bug bashes are the multi-tester / scaled version.
# Bug bash — `<release / feature / area>`
**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Time:** 14:00-15:30 (90 min)
**Environment:** staging.example.com (build `v1.4.5-rc1`)
**Facilitator:** _______________
**Note-taker:** _______________
## Mission
Find regressions, edge cases, and usability issues in the new
checkout flow before the release on YYYY-MM-DD.
## Charters (5 cohorts × 90 min)
Per cohort, 1-2 testers + 1 facilitator-roving:
- **Cohort A — Money:** Apply the [Money tour](../tour-based-explorer-prompt/SKILL.md)
across the new checkout discount + tax flow.
- **Cohort B — Bad data:** Apply the [Bad-data tour](../tour-based-explorer-prompt/SKILL.md)
across promo code input, address fields, payment fields.
- **Cohort C — Configuration:** Vary user state (new vs existing
account, EU vs US user, mobile vs desktop) and re-run hero flows.
- **Cohort D — Landmark:** Walk the canonical hero flow (search →
add to cart → checkout → confirmation) under various conditions.
- **Cohort E — Garbage collector:** Visit every page in the
checkout funnel; flag 404s, broken images, stale strings.
## Test data prep (do BEFORE the bash)
- [ ] Create 5 test accounts with varying states (per
[`synthetic-data-toolkit`](../../qa-test-data/skills/synthetic-data-toolkit/SKILL.md)):
`qa-bash-A`, `qa-bash-B`, ..., `qa-bash-E`.
- [ ] Seed promo codes: `WELCOME10`, `EXPIRED50`, `MIN100`,
`STACKABLE5`.
- [ ] Pre-fund the Stripe test account; expose test cards
(Stripe test card list).
- [ ] Verify staging is at the right SHA; tag artifact.
## Sign-up sheet
| Cohort | Tester(s) | Notes |
|--------|-------------------|-------|
| A | | |
| B | | |
| ... | | |
The kit is sent 1 week before so testers can prepare and team members can RSVP. Testers who can't attend live get an async-charter version.
14:00-14:05 Kickoff (facilitator presents the mission, charters, scoring rubric)
14:05-14:50 Round 1 (each cohort runs its charter; ~45 min)
14:50-15:00 Mid-bash huddle (5-min check-in: what's everyone seeing?)
15:00-15:25 Round 2 (cohorts swap charters; new lens on the same area)
15:25-15:30 Wrap (everyone logs final bugs; facilitator closes the board)
The cohort swap at the midpoint is critical - it's the same testers looking at the area through a fresh lens, and it surfaces bugs that the first cohort's tour missed.
A shared spreadsheet / Notion table / GitHub issues view that everyone can see live during the bash:
| ID | Time | Cohort | Reporter | Title | Severity | Repro | Triage | Owner | Final disposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14:08 | A | Alice | Promo WELCOME10 not applied | high | Cart BOOK-001; apply code | bug | Bob | BUG-987 |
| 2 | 14:12 | B | Bob | Promo input accepts SQL injection | high | Type '; DROP-- and apply | bug | Bob | BUG-988 |
| 3 | 14:15 | A | Alice | Subtotal off by 1 cent on $24.99 + 10% | low | Apply WELCOME10 to $24.99 | bug | Carol | BUG-989 |
| 4 | 14:20 | C | Carol | EU user sees $ symbol instead of € | medium | Set locale=EU; checkout | bug | Dave | BUG-990 |
The Triage column is filled in real-time by a roving facilitator who decides:
bug: confirmed reproducible defect.dup: duplicate of another row.spike: needs a research session (architectural concern, not a
fixable defect).quirk: known trade-off or won't-fix; document and close.tbd: needs more investigation.Real-time triage prevents the debrief from being a giant classification exercise.
Optional but motivating: a points system.
| Finding type | Points |
|---|---|
| Critical (data loss, P0) | 10 |
| High (broken flow) | 5 |
| Medium (degraded UX) | 3 |
| Low (cosmetic / minor) | 1 |
| Novel (no one else thought to check) | +2 bonus |
| Cluster lead (the first row in a 3+-row cluster) | +1 bonus |
| Duplicate (already on board) | 0 |
Tally per cohort + per individual at the wrap. The points are explicitly fun, not performance review - but they motivate testers to go beyond the obvious.
Within 24 hours, the facilitator + note-taker produce:
## Bug bash debrief — `<release>`
**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Participants:** N (across 5 cohorts)
**Duration:** 90 min
### Findings summary
| Severity | Count | Notes |
|------------|------:|-------|
| Critical | 0 | |
| High | 6 | 4 cluster (promo flow); 2 isolated (config) |
| Medium | 14 | |
| Low | 23 | mostly cosmetic / copy issues |
| **Total** | 43 | |
### Cluster analysis
| Cluster | Bugs | Bug IDs | Owner | Action |
|------------------------|-----:|------------------------|----------|--------|
| Promo apply edge cases | 7 | BUG-987, 988, 989, 990, 991, 992, 993 | Bob | Block release until fixed. |
| EU locale bugs | 3 | BUG-994, 995, 996 | Dave | Fix in current sprint. |
| Cosmetic / copy | 12 | (per-bug) | Eve | Backlog; address over the next 2 sprints. |
### Cohort scoring (per Step 4)
| Cohort | Findings | Points | Top finder |
|--------|---------:|-------:|------------|
| A | 12 | 34 | Alice (BUG-987 high + 2 cluster lead bonuses) |
| B | 9 | 27 | Bob (SQL injection — high + novelty) |
| ... | | | |
### Process retrospective
What went well: ...
What didn't: ...
What to change for next bash: ...
### Action items
- [ ] Bob: fix BUG-987 cluster within 48h (release blocker).
- [ ] Dave: fix EU locale cluster in current sprint.
- [ ] Eve: backlog the 12 cosmetic items for grooming.
- [ ] Facilitator: schedule next bash for `v1.5.0` release.
Team members who can't attend live get a mini-charter to run solo within the same week:
# Async bug bash mini-charter — `<release>` (cohort: pick one)
You missed the live bash; here's the 30-min version. Pick a
cohort that wasn't done yet (or revisit one with a new lens).
(charter cohort body)
When done, log findings to the same shared board with
`async` tag.
Async participation isn't ideal (no roving facilitator, no live triage) but it broadens coverage.
| Anti-pattern | Why it fails | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Open-ended "everyone test for an hour" | Heavy duplication; no coverage map; debrief skipped. | Cohorts + charters (Step 1). |
| No real-time triage | Debrief becomes a 3-hour classification exercise. | Roving facilitator triages live (Step 3). |
| Scoring as performance review | Testers chase points, miss high-value bugs. | Scoring is for fun + motivation; explicit "not performance" disclaimer. |
| Bug bash without test-data prep | Testers spend half the time creating accounts. | Pre-prep test data 1 week ahead (Step 1). |
| Same-cohort assignments quarter after quarter | Same testers find the same bugs. | Rotate assignments; mid-bash cohort swap (Step 2). |
| Post-bash with no follow-up actions | Bugs sit in the backlog; team disillusioned by next bash. | Action items per cluster owner (Step 5). |
| Running the bash on a stale build | Bugs found are already-fixed; testers waste time. | Tag the build SHA; verify staging is current. |
exploratory-charter-author - provides the per-cohort charters this bash composes.tour-based-explorer-prompt - the heuristics menu the cohorts pick from.manual-test-debrief - the
PROOF debrief format the bug-bash debrief inherits from.synthetic-data-toolkit - used in the test-data-prep step.bug-repro-builder - downstream: turn each bash-found bug into a structured repro.Provides CDSS development patterns for drug interaction checking, dose validation, clinical scoring (NEWS2, qSOFA), and alert classification integrated into EMR workflows.
npx claudepluginhub testland/qa --plugin qa-manual-testing