Design QA Guide

A guide to ensure the final implementation matches the intended design, maintaining quality and consistency.

Why is Design QA Important?

Design QA (Quality Assurance) is the final check before a feature goes live. It bridges the gap between the design specification and the developed product, catching inconsistencies in layout, typography, functionality, and user experience. A thorough QA process prevents a "death by a thousand cuts" scenario, where small deviations accumulate and degrade the overall quality of the product.

The QA Process

  1. Prepare: Gather all necessary design files, prototypes, and documentation. Create a checklist of all screens and components to be reviewed.
  2. Review: Systematically go through the implemented product on various devices and browsers. Compare it against the design mockups.
  3. Report: Document all discrepancies clearly. Use a bug-tracking tool (like Jira or GitHub Issues) and provide screenshots, screen recordings, and detailed descriptions of the issue vs. the expected behavior.

Core Checklist

Visual & UI

Spacing & Alignment

Are margins, padding, and alignment consistent with the design specs? Check against the 8px grid and spacing tokens.

Typography

Are the correct font families, sizes, weights, and line heights being used for all text elements?

Colors

Do all colors match the design system tokens? Check text, backgrounds, and borders.

Interaction & Functionality

Component States

Do all interactive elements have the correct hover, active, focus, and disabled states?

User Flows

Can the user complete the primary tasks? Are all navigation paths and links working as expected?

Content

Copy & Wording

Is all the text correct? Check for typos, grammatical errors, and ensure the tone is consistent.

Images & Icons

Are all images and icons displaying correctly, at the right resolution, and without distortion?