2025-01-20 · Leo Andersson

Playwright Traces as a Teaching Tool

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Traces can overwhelm. Our rule: one failed scenario per review packet, with the trace already trimmed to the flaky step. Students learn to jump to the network panel and the locator timeline without sitting through a ten-minute capture. We ask for a one-paragraph hypothesis before opening the trace. That sentence forces learners to articulate expected DOM behavior. Often the bug is an assumption about lazy loading, not a bad selector. Advanced groups compare two traces side by side after a frontend deploy. The diff conversation builds partnership language with product engineers—far more valuable than a green dashboard that hides drift.

Tags: playwright, testing, mentorship