Test naming conventions that actually communicate intent — what works for our team

Test names are the first thing you read when a test fails in CI. After years of bad names, here's the convention our team landed on: **Format:** `test_[action]_[context]_[expected_outcome]` Examples: ``` test_create_user_with_duplicate_email_returns_409 test_checkout_flow_when_cart_is_empty_shows_empty_state_message test_admin_user_can_access_settings_page test_regular_user_cannot_access_admin_panel ``` **Rules we enforce:** 1. No "test_happy_path" or "test_sad_path" — be specific about what happy means 2. The expected outcome is always part of the name 3. Use `when` or `with` to set context: `test_login_when_account_is_locked_returns_403` 4. Avoid abbreviations in test names — they're documentation This seems obvious written out but our old tests had names like `test_user_1` and `test_checkout_3`. The refactor took a sprint and we've never looked back.