How to Test When You Have No Specs: Lessons from Real QA Projects

Ideally, all projects have clear specifications, well-written user stories, and solid acceptance criteria. But in fact, QA Engineers often get builds with no documentation and instructions to test "whatever there is." It might look like chaos, but it is actually a common issue in startups as well as in enterprise projects. If approached properly, it might also be a chance for QAs to show their analytical mind and provide huge value.

Spec-free testing calls for a transition from validation to discovery. Rather than verifying what's supposed to happen (since no one actually knows), the QA's role is discovery: What does the app do? What's it supposed to do? Where could it fail? This is where exploratory testing, domain expertise, and user empathy come into their own. Rather than merely running test cases, testers become detectives, re-creating how the system's supposed to work—by probing UI flows, asking strategic questions, and digging into APIs and logs.

Communication is your friend in these situations. Don't wait for specs, speak to developers, product owners, designers, and even users. Ask "what should happen if…?" and "who uses this feature?" These questions make expectations clear and reveal concealed risks. Apply methods such as session-based testing, mind maps, and heuristics-based exploration to systematically cover ground. The aim is not to test everything, it's to test smartly and catch the riskiest problems early.

Documentation might be missing, but risk is never optional. Prioritize test efforts based on what's most visible to users, most integrated with other systems, or most likely to fail. For repeatable items, develop lightweight checklists or charter-based test plans. Something you can evolve with as the project evolves. Specs-less testing isn't about doing what you're told, it's about asking the right questions, quickly.

In Certiva QA, we've done many projects where the "requirements" were a mockup of a user interface or a vague email. Our success in this field is due to our dedication to training our quality assurance engineers to be proactive testers, keen investigators, and good communicators. With the practice of our five Cs—Commitment, Care, Collaboration, Consistency, and Continuous Improvement—rapid responses are achievable, gaps are closed, and an unyielding commitment to quality is ensured. Whether reverse-engineering a feature or building specifications from scratch, Certiva QA brings clarity in confusion and quality in uncertainty. Quality is Our Launchpad.