Last Clear Chance Doctrine
How a Legal Principle can be applied to QA
Last Clear Chance Doctrine
The last clear chance doctrine is a legal principle that can be applied to quality assurance testing.
For example, imagine that a user enters an incorrect value into a form field. If the QA team does not catch this mistake, the user may submit the form and the incorrect value may be saved in the database. This could lead to problems down the road, such as incorrect reports being generated or incorrect financial transactions being processed.
In this case, the QA team had the last clear chance to prevent the mistake from causing harm. They had the opportunity to review the form field and catch the incorrect value, but they failed to do so. As a result, they may be held liable for any damages that result from the mistake.
The last clear chance doctrine can be a powerful tool for QA teams. It can help to ensure that users are not harmed by mistakes that could have been prevented. However, it is important to note that the doctrine does not apply in all cases. For example, if the user makes a mistake that is very obvious, the QA team may not be held liable.
The last clear chance doctrine is similar to a lifeguard watching over a pool: Even if a swimmer is making a mistake, the lifeguard is still responsible for preventing that mistake to get out of hand.
Here are some tips for QA teams to avoid liability under the last clear chance doctrine:
- Be thorough in your testing.
- Be diligent in reviewing your findings.
- Communicate your findings to the appropriate stakeholders.
- Take steps to prevent known mistakes from causing harm.
By following these tips, QA teams can help to protect themselves from liability under the last clear chance doctrine.
Important Note
Although the last clear chance doctrine does place responsibility on the QA team, ultimately it is up to the dev user to be careful and avoid making mistakes in the first place.