Error Scenario
A scenario that describes how the product responds when something goes wrong: invalid input, failed validations, blocked actions, or system-level failures.
An error scenario isn't a bug report. It's a description of how the product is meant to behave when something goes wrong: the user tries to upload a file type that isn't allowed, the email address is already in use, the payment is declined. These behaviours are intentional, someone decided what should happen, and they belong in the specification.
Most traditional product specs skip error scenarios entirely. The PM describes the happy path; engineers figure out the error handling during implementation; the spec never catches up. The result is that nobody on the non-engineering side of the team knows what error messages the product shows, when they appear, or how to explain them to a customer.
Specsight captures error scenarios alongside happy paths and edge cases. When the validation logic changes in a release, the error scenario updates to match.
Example
- CONTEXT
A user attempts to upload a file
- ACTION
The file type is .exe
- OUTCOME
The upload is rejected and an error message explains which file types are allowed
Related terms
- SPEC
Scenario
A single plain-language description of how a product behaves in a specific situation. The atomic unit of a Specsight spec.
- SPEC
Happy Path
A scenario that describes the expected, successful flow of a feature: what happens when everything goes right and the user stays on the main track.
- SPEC
Edge Case
A scenario that describes unusual but valid behaviour, the conditions at the edges of what the feature supports. Often the source of support tickets.