Establish what is happening
Capture the starting state
Use a synthetic guest cart and record item quantities, address-field completion, shipping choice, and current step. Note browser, device, locale, and whether the cart came from a direct link or restoration. Keep personal information out of the fixture.
Repeat interruptions
Refresh, use back and forward, close and reopen the browser, idle through the session window, and return from a payment redirect. Compare preserved cart, address, shipping, and order state. Keep one interruption per attempt so recovery behavior is attributable.
Name the recovery boundary
Mark whether interruption occurs at sign-in, address validation, shipping, payment, confirmation, or session expiry. Record the prompt and available next action. If an order may exist, compare saved state before suggesting a retry or restart.
What to carry forward
Triage is complete when the guest state, interruption trigger, preserved records, and safe next action are known. Keep payment or order state explicitly unknown when no record proves it; do not call a lost page a failed order.
Keep the decision with the work.
Use a Work Item in Aglet to record the problem, the evidence you have, and the next decision. Add an owner and priority, then keep updates in the discussion so the next person can follow the reasoning.
Create an account See the product workflow