PostBug pre-launch testing checklist

Prepare your test checklist

Last updated: 26 September, 2024 (part of continual improvement based on newly found issues)

Below is a general guide to what you could test pre-launch to ensure the action will work for everyone. As PostBug is simple for senders but behind the scenes complex, highly configurable, evolving system, a thorough test of the platform is PostBug's responsibility. However a basic test pre-launch is also prudent to check if your configuration is complete and works as intended on different devices and in different languages.

There are three test phases:

1. Draft phase: more involved testing to ensure it is complete works the way you want
2. Live (pre launch) mode: basic re-testing to ensure it is still OK.
3. Live (post launch): if/when supporters report any issues

Draft phase testing

Adapt this advice to the requirements of your specific action depending on what applies.

General functionality

For each language you need to check:

1. Branding: Is the correct logo used and the correct button colour and font used?
2. Mobile: is the text an OK length or too long?
3. Action text: does the action-specific say and look as you expect it to?
4. Instruction text: are the headlines, labels, and instruction text correct?
5. Recipient lookup: some action types (political representative) identify the recipient before a sender selects an image. Other types (fixed recipient, send to friend, send to GP) have the image selection first. Wherever the recipient selection is in the process, it needs checking with a range of search criteria (postcodes, country, name/city/street) relevant to the action. The next section goes into this in detail.
6. Images: do the correct postcard images appear in the desired order? If you have specific images for specific recipients or groups of recipients, check each case is working.
7. Message text: does the correct message version appear for the intended recipient? If you have linked specific messages to specific recipients, recipient groups or to a specific image, test each to ensure the correct one comes up. To help you spot it quickly, add a temporary prefix in all caps to the message to evaluate quickly. Remember to remove it after.
8. Message editability: Is the message editability as you expect? The editability is quite flexible including fully editable, part editable with no suggested text, part editable with suggested text and uneditable. Also check that when you edit a field if the suggested text remains to be edited but for no suggested text areas the instruction text vanishes.
9. Message length: Test with a very short message and a very long message to ensure the message length limiter displays correctly and is clear.
10. Sender details: as you specify what sender details are collected, how they are labelled and if they are optional, test them to ensure the required ones are required and the optional are optional. You can also double check if the supporter data export contains them.
11. Sender pay and pay forward: if you enabled sender pay and pay forward, check the text and amounts, click through on each option to ensure the payment page amounts match and if the free send option was enabled, also check it is present.
12. Questions: Are the consent questions and other questions (e.g. are you a member) displaying the way you want? Are they working the way you want? Note that if you enabled sender pay or pay forward, the questions will appear on the payment page unless the 'free' option is selected.
13. Payment: While the action is on draft mode, the payments are also in test mode and none will really go through. To test payment a card payment method, use the card number 4242 4242 4242 4242 with any future date as the expiry date and any three digit number for the CVC code. This should be sufficient, but for more detailed testing see detailed Stripe testing instructions.
14. Completion page: there are three options for the completion page: redirect to a non-PostBug URL, a social media sharing page or a page with custom copy. (a) external url: check that it redirects, including it if passes URL tracking variables through if you use them. (b) social media sharing: check the social sharing links work, the text is passed through and the social sharing image loads (depends on platform how it displays). The chosen postcard should also be displayed. (c) message page: check it displays properly (including links and any formatting) and those links work properly. This will depend on how they were coded. The chosen postcard should also be displayed.
15. Completion email: generally the completion email is now sent for draft actions. However a copy of it will be sent to check. Load it in a browser and check the test and image content is as expected and the links work as expected.

If this seems like a lot, it is just making explicit what should be checked on any action on or off PostBug.

Recipient lookup testing

If your action requires matching or selecting a recipient, then further testing is needed. This is because of the wide and growing range of configuration options to group or limit recipients based on various criteria (location, party/organisation, role in government, etc). Focus on the relevant section below.

UK MP Lookup Testing

Remember to also test for negative results, not just for positive. e.g. is a current cabinet or party member) but for results that should be negative (was a cabinet member in this/previous government, was a party member

1. Minimum: Test postcodes from each of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
2. Individual targeting?: if you target specific named MPs, test their specific postcodes and ensure the images and message(s) are correct for each
3. Party targeting?: If you are targeting MPs by party, test postcodes for MPs from each party you wish to include and each party you wish to exclude. Note that for some parties they may have different local names e.g. Labour and Labour (Co-op) so be sure to test for MPs of both.
4. Group targeting?: If you are targeting MPs by group (e.g. government minister, governing party, opposition parties) then make sure you test with postcodes for 1-2 MPs in each group. Note that for some parties they may have different local names e.g. Labour and Labour (Co-op) so be sure to test for MPs of both.

Example MP postcodes for testing:

1. England MPs: MK18 4LN (Labour - backbencher), HX1 1BB (Labour Co-op), HU17 0ZW (Conservative), CV1 1EU (Independent), BA1 0SS (Lib Dem), BS1 1DR (Green)
2. Scotland MPs: AB10 1SN (SNP), G1 1BQ (Labour), KY9 1JF (Lib Dem)
3. Wales MPs: LL36 0TA (Plaid Cymru), CF10 1AE (Labour Co-op)
4. Northern Ireland MPs: BT1 1TS (SDLP, seated), BT411BD (UUP, seated) BT1 1AA (Sinn Fein, unseated)
5. Party-specific: W10 4JL (Labour cabinet), MK18 4LN (Labour - backbencher), CF10 1AE (Labour Co-op), HU17 0ZW (Conservative), BA1 0SS (Lib Dem), BS1 1DR (Green), AB10 1SN (SNP), CV1 1EU (Independent), LL36 0TA (Plaid Cymru), BT1 1TS (SDLP), BT1 1AA (Sinn Féin), CO15 1AS (Reform)
6. Cabinet Ministers: NW1 1BZ (PM Starmer), LS13 2ET (Labour), CB10 1NA (Conservative, former)
7. Speaker: PR6 0AN (Chorley, Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP)
8. Problematic postcodes: NW3 2AY, N1 9AB (both valid postcodes but rejected by parlimanet.uk MP lookup)
9. Invalid postcodes: W10 (partial), 123 456 (invalid format), BT1 1BG (correct format, old and unused), NW1 1ZZ (correct format, non-existent)