Network-First Safeguards

• Register interceptions before any navigation or user action; store the promise and await it immediately after the triggering step.
• Assert on structured responses (status, body schema, headers) instead of generic waits so failures surface with actionable context.
• Capture HAR files or Playwright traces on successful runs—reuse them for deterministic CI playback when upstream services flake.
• Prefer edge mocking: stub at service boundaries, never deep within the stack unless risk analysis demands it.
• Replace implicit waits with deterministic signals like waitForResponse, disappearance of spinners, or event hooks.

Source: Murat Testing Philosophy, Playwright patterns book, blog on network interception.