A search demo with a fast successful response leaves most reliability questions unanswered. Listeners also use slow connections, change their minds while typing, and open pages when a service is temporarily unavailable.
A small failure matrix can cover these conditions without turning every UI test into a full end-to-end system.
Choose distinct cases
Include a successful empty result, a slow valid result, a timeout, a 429 response, an authentication failure, and an unexpected response shape. Add two queries whose responses arrive in reverse order.
For each case, write the expected visible behavior first. The input should remain readable. A genuine empty result should offer a search adjustment. A failure should offer an appropriate retry or sign-in action rather than saying that no podcasts exist.
Check that a retry uses the current query and filters. A button can look correct while accidentally resending an older request captured by a stale callback.
Inspect requests as well as pixels
Count attempts under a failed response. A test that only sees a final error message may miss an uncontrolled retry loop behind it. Confirm that cancellation stops unnecessary work and that a rate-limit response does not produce immediate repeated requests.
Use a keyboard to submit the search and reach its recovery controls. Check result announcements without forcing focus away from the query after every keystroke.
Keep fixtures small and named after the behavior they demonstrate. When a new production failure appears, add the specific missing case instead of duplicating another generic happy-path test.
The goal is a screen that behaves deliberately when the response is late or wrong, not merely a screenshot that looks good when everything succeeds.