QA pass (manual testing)
Someone deliberately using and abusing the product, screen by screen, the way real users and store reviewers will, to find what automated tests missed.
Updated October 2026 · with examples from our own builds
What does QA pass mean in practice?
A QA pass is structured manual testing: every screen, every flow and the awkward cases, such as going back mid-payment, double-tapping submit, killing the app, losing the network or stopping the server. Each defect is logged with steps and either fixed or deliberately deferred.
Release blockers are cheapest to find here, before customers or store reviewers find them. Automated tests check what someone thought to check; a person exploring finds what nobody thought of.
It works best with a written checklist and a defect log, on real devices or emulators, with real accounts and, where it is safe, real external systems.
QA pass at a glance
- Covers
- Every screen, plus deliberate misuse
- Finds
- What automated tests didn't think to check
- Output
- A defect log with steps, causes and fixes
Where has QA pass come up in our builds?
On 14–15 October 2026 we click-tested and break-tested both apps screen by screen on an Android 16 emulator: back gestures, killing the app mid-flow, double taps, airplane mode and a stopped server. 28 defects were logged, each with its own root-cause folder, and all 28 were fixed.
Tap-through walks on an Android emulator found bugs that type checks and green API tests had missed, alongside 76 automated test suites.
To prove the mail fix, a script ran 50 live scenarios against the firm's real shared mailboxes, from Tamil, emoji and 300-character subjects to bodies up to 5 MB and ten concurrent reads. Each test message carried a run tag, and cleanup removed only tagged mail.
Common questions about QA pass
Do I still need manual testing if there are automated tests?
Yes. Automated tests check known cases; a person exploring the app finds the ones nobody wrote down, especially around navigation, interruptions and particular devices.
Who should do the QA pass?
Someone who didn't write the code, with a checklist and permission to break things. A founder's own walk-through is valuable too, but it tends to follow the happy path.
Related terms
Planning a product and not sure where QA pass fits? Ask us, or browse all 116 terms in the glossary.