Observation: definition and contract

An Observation is immutable evidence of what actually happened when a Journey Version ran in a declared context. It can include the outcome, product state, visuals, DOM and accessibility state, console and network evidence, provenance, redaction, privacy treatment, and the checkpoint result.

Observation versus test result

A pass or fail is a conclusion. An Observation retains the evidence needed to understand that conclusion and its boundaries. It shows which Journey Version, State Capsule, runner, attempt, target, and privacy policy produced the record.

That distinction matters when a Run fails for reasons other than the product. A missing target, expired session, unavailable runner, privacy block, or recipient mismatch should not be collapsed into the same evidence as a confirmed product regression.

Observation contents

Depending on the Journey and policy, an Observation may retain:

• outcome checkpoint and classification;
• step and branch execution facts;
• screenshots, video, or other visual evidence;
• DOM and accessibility-tree state;
• console messages and bounded network evidence;
• product-state and recipient evidence;
• source, runner, attempt, and content hashes;
• redaction results and retained-byte custody;
• known uncertainty and missing evidence.

Immutability and privacy

An Observation cannot be edited into a cleaner result. If the evidence is incomplete or sensitive, the system records that boundary and applies retention, redaction, access, and deletion policy. A later Run creates a new Observation rather than mutating the earlier one.

Approved evidence can be transformed into an editable Rendition. Cropping, annotation, narration, or localization belongs to the Rendition revision so the source Observation remains independently traceable.

Example: a confirmation page changed

An Observation may show that the backend completed the action, the intended recipient was correct, and the accessibility tree remained usable, while a confirmation panel moved and changed copy. Review can decide whether the change is acceptable, a visual regression, or a documentation-impact event without losing the facts that actually occurred.

See Decision for the attributable consequence and evidence custody documentation for provenance boundaries.