UX Baseline Check

Core Pack — Always Active

This is a core skill. Apply it on ALL visual and frontend work alongside design-review.

Every screen ships with ALL states covered. No exceptions. This is the minimum bar.

The State Inventory

Before any page or component is "done", verify each applicable state exists:

1. Data States

• Empty — no data yet. Helpful message + clear CTA, not a blank screen
• Loading — skeleton, spinner, or shimmer. Never a white flash
• Loaded — the happy path, obviously
• Error — API failure, network issue. User-friendly message + retry action
• Partial — some data loaded, some failed. Don't hide what works
• Long content — what happens with 200 items? 2000-character names? Test it

2. Interaction States

• Hover — every clickable element has a hover state
• Focus — keyboard navigation works, focus rings visible
• Active/pressed — buttons respond to clicks visually
• Disabled — grayed out with clear reason why (tooltip or helper text)
• Selected — multi-select, current tab, active filter all visually distinct

3. Form States

• Validation — inline errors on blur, not just on submit
• Required fields — clearly marked
• Success feedback — user knows their action worked (toast, inline, redirect)
• Destructive confirmation — delete/remove actions require confirmation
• Autofill — doesn't break layout when browser autofills

4. Responsive

• Mobile (375px) — usable, not just visible. Touch targets ≥48px with ≥8px spacing between them
• Tablet (768px) — layout adapts, not just shrinks
• Desktop (1280px) — the primary target, looks intentional
• Wide (1800px+) — content doesn't stretch absurdly. Max-width or centered

5. Accessibility

• Keyboard nav — can reach all interactive elements with Tab
• Screen reader — semantic HTML, aria-labels on icons, alt text on images
• Color contrast — 4.5:1 minimum for text (use WebAIM checker)
• No color-only indicators — don't rely solely on red/green for status

6. Edge Cases

• First-time user — onboarding or empty state guides them
• Permission denied — user sees why they can't access, not a broken page
• Stale data — timestamps or refresh indicators when data might be outdated
• Concurrent edits — what happens if two people edit the same thing?

How to Use

Run this checklist AFTER the feature works but BEFORE design review. For each missing state, either:

1. Implement it (preferred)
2. Document it as a known gap and tell Aaron explicitly

Never silently skip a state. If it's intentionally deferred, say so.

Quick Pass vs Full Pass

Quick pass (components, small features): States 1-2 only Full pass (pages, flows, shipping features): All 6 sections

The Test

Ask yourself: "What happens if the network is slow, the data is weird, the user is on a phone, or they're using a keyboard?" If you don't know, you haven't finished.