Journal
When screenshots fail as evidence
Screenshots are tempting because they are fast. They also fail for predictable reasons: cropped headers, missing timestamps, unread system messages, and no path back to the export that created them.
What reviewers usually reject
Partial UI captures without user identity, images that cannot show filter criteria, and stacks of near-identical frames that bury the one exception that matters. If your financial auditing app for audit evidence management allows annotations, use them—silence reads as uncertainty.
Prefer the export, attach the shot
When the system can export a CSV or PDF with parameters, store that as the primary object. Keep the screenshot as a secondary illustration of the screen path, not the sole support.
Capture the question you answered
Name the file after the testing step, not after the app window. “AR-cutoff-filter-31Dec” beats “Screen Shot 2025-01-04.” Your future self—and the external reviewer—will thank you.
When a screenshot is enough
Configuration toggles, approval queues with immutable stamps, and rare UI states that exports cannot reproduce. Even then, write one sentence stating why the shot is the best available evidence.