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Staging Test: Notifications & Announcements

Test Area: Notifications, Announcements & Inbox
Estimated Time: 20-25 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Prerequisites: Complete 01-authentication first

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Overview

This guide tests the notification and announcement system:
FeatureWhat It Does
NotificationsAutomatic alerts when something happens (deposit approved, etc.)
AnnouncementsPlatform-wide messages from Admin (banners/popups)
InboxOne place to see all messages and notifications
Direct MessagesTwo-way messaging between Admin and investors

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Notification Types

TypeWhen You See It
Deposit Approved/RejectedAfter admin processes your deposit
Withdrawal Approved/CompletedAfter admin processes your withdrawal
Wallet ApprovedAfter admin approves your wallet
New AnnouncementWhen admin publishes an announcement
New MessageWhen admin sends you a direct message

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Before You Start

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URLs

PageURL
Loginhttps://zestamc.savibm.com/login
Investor Dashboardhttps://zestamc.savibm.com/investor/dashboard
Support/Inboxhttps://zestamc.savibm.com/support/inbox
Admin Announcementshttps://zestamc.savibm.com/admin/announcements
Admin Messageshttps://zestamc.savibm.com/admin/support/dm

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Test Accounts

The database is pre-seeded with notifications and messages:
EmailOTPPre-Seeded Data
admin@zestamc.comCheck emailCreated announcements, sent DMs
testinvestor@zestamc.comCheck email2 unread notifications, 1 DM
test@zestamc.comCheck email2 unread notifications, 2 unread DMs
institution@zestamc.comCheck email1 notification (institution-only announcement)

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Pre-Seeded Announcements

TitlePriorityWho Sees It
Welcome to the New Platform UpdateHIGHAll users
Scheduled Maintenance NoticeMEDIUMDraft (not published)
New Institutional Reporting FeaturesMEDIUMInstitution users only

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Test Cases: Investor

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Test 1: View Notification Indicator

Goal: See the unread notification indicator Steps:
  1. Log in as testinvestor@zestamc.com
  2. Look at the notification bell icon in the header
Expected Results:
ElementWhat You Should See
Bell iconVisible in header
Dot indicatorShows a pulsing red dot when there are unread items
No countThe dot does NOT show the number of unread items
Pass Criteria: ✅ Notification dot indicator appears when there are unread items

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Test 2: View Notifications List

Goal: See all your notifications Steps:
  1. Click the notification bell icon
  2. View the dropdown or notifications page
Expected Results:
ElementWhat You Should See
ListNotifications displayed
OrderNewest at top
DetailsTitle, preview, and time shown
Pass Criteria: ✅ Notifications list displays correctly

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Test 3: Mark Notification as Read

Goal: Mark a notification as read Steps:
  1. Open the notifications list
  2. Click on an unread notification
Expected Results:
StepWhat You Should See
ClickNotification opens/expands
StylingChanges to “read” appearance
Dot indicatorDot disappears if no unread items remain
Pass Criteria: ✅ Notification marked as read

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Test 4: View Announcement Banner

Goal: See announcements displayed as a banner Steps:
  1. Log in as testinvestor@zestamc.com
  2. Go to the Dashboard
  3. Look at the top of the page
Expected Results:
ElementWhat You Should See
BannerAppears at top of page
Content”Welcome to the New Platform Update”
DismissX button to close
Pass Criteria: ✅ Announcement banner displays

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Test 5: Dismiss Announcement Banner

Goal: Hide the banner Steps:
  1. Click the X button on the banner
  2. Refresh the page
Expected Results:
StepWhat You Should See
Click XBanner disappears
RefreshBanner stays hidden
Pass Criteria: ✅ Dismissed banner stays hidden

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Test 6: View Inbox

Goal: See all messages in one place Steps:
  1. Navigate to Support in the sidebar
  2. Click Inbox or go to /support/inbox
Expected Results:
ElementWhat You Should See
TabsAll, Messages, Notifications tabs
ItemsNotifications and DMs listed
UnreadUnread items visually distinct (bold/dot)
Pass Criteria: ✅ Inbox shows all items

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Test 7: Filter Inbox by Tab

Goal: Filter inbox by category Steps:
  1. Go to the Inbox
  2. Click each tab: All, Messages, Notifications
Expected Results:
TabWhat Shows
AllEverything mixed
MessagesOnly direct messages
NotificationsOnly system notifications
Pass Criteria: ✅ Tabs filter correctly

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Test 8: View Direct Message from Admin

Goal: See a message from admin Steps:
  1. Log in as testinvestor@zestamc.com
  2. Go to the Inbox
  3. Click on the message from Admin
Expected Results:
ElementWhat You Should See
MessageFull content displayed
SenderShows “Admin” or admin name
ReplyReply input is visible
Pass Criteria: ✅ Can view admin message

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Test 9: Reply to Admin Message

Goal: Send a reply to the admin Steps:
  1. Open the conversation with Admin
  2. Type: “Thank you for the update.”
  3. Click Send
Expected Results:
StepWhat You Should See
SendReply appears in conversation
StatusMessage shows as sent
Pass Criteria: ✅ Reply sent successfully

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Test 10: Targeted Announcement (Institution Only)

Goal: Verify targeted announcements work Steps:
  1. Log in as institution@zestamc.com
  2. Check for “New Institutional Reporting Features” announcement
  3. Log out
  4. Log in as testinvestor@zestamc.com
  5. Check if the same announcement is visible
Expected Results:
UserWhat You Should See
institutionSees the announcement
testinvestorDoes NOT see it
Pass Criteria: ✅ Targeted announcement only visible to target users

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Test Cases: Admin

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Test 11: Create Announcement

Goal: Create a new announcement Steps:
  1. Log in as admin@zestamc.com
  2. Go to Admin → Announcements
  3. Click Create Announcement
  4. Fill in:
    • Title: “System Update This Weekend”
    • Content: “We will be performing maintenance on Saturday.”
    • Priority: Medium
  5. Click Save as Draft
Expected Results:
StepWhat You Should See
FormTitle, content, priority fields
After saveAnnouncement in list with “Draft” status
Pass Criteria: ✅ Draft announcement created

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Test 12: Publish Announcement

Goal: Make an announcement visible to users Steps:
  1. Find the draft announcement from Test 11
  2. Click on it to open
  3. Click Publish
  4. Confirm
Expected Results:
StepWhat You Should See
Publish buttonAvailable on draft
After publishStatus changes to “Published”
InvestorsWill now see this announcement
Pass Criteria: ✅ Announcement published

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Test 13: Send Direct Message

Goal: Send a message to an investor Steps:
  1. Log in as admin@zestamc.com
  2. Go to Support Center → Direct Messages
  3. Select recipient: testinvestor@zestamc.com
  4. Type: “Please check your recent deposit status.”
  5. Click Send
Expected Results:
StepWhat You Should See
FormRecipient selector, message field
After sendSuccess message
RecipientInvestor will receive notification
Pass Criteria: ✅ DM sent successfully

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Test 14: View Conversations

Goal: See all message threads with investors Steps:
  1. Go to Support Center → Direct Messages
  2. View the conversations list
Expected Results:
ElementWhat You Should See
ListConversations with investors
PreviewLast message shown
UnreadUnread count per conversation
Pass Criteria: ✅ Conversations list displays

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Test Results Summary

TestDescriptionStatusNotes
Investor Tests
Test 1Notification Indicator⬜ Pass / ⬜ Fail
Test 2Notifications List⬜ Pass / ⬜ Fail
Test 3Mark as Read⬜ Pass / ⬜ Fail
Test 4Announcement Banner⬜ Pass / ⬜ Fail
Test 5Dismiss Banner⬜ Pass / ⬜ Fail
Test 6View Inbox⬜ Pass / ⬜ Fail
Test 7Filter Inbox⬜ Pass / ⬜ Fail
Test 8View DM⬜ Pass / ⬜ Fail
Test 9Reply to DM⬜ Pass / ⬜ Fail
Test 10Targeted Announcement⬜ Pass / ⬜ Fail
Admin Tests
Test 11Create Announcement⬜ Pass / ⬜ Fail
Test 12Publish Announcement⬜ Pass / ⬜ Fail
Test 13Send DM⬜ Pass / ⬜ Fail
Test 14View Conversations⬜ Pass / ⬜ Fail

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Troubleshooting

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Notifications not appearing

  • Refresh the page and check again
  • Click the bell icon to refresh the list
  • Verify you’re using the correct test account

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Announcement banner not showing

  • You may have dismissed it before; try re-seeding the database
  • Check if logged in as the correct user type

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Messages not working

  • Make sure you’re responding to an admin message
  • Refresh the page if message doesn’t appear

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No pre-seeded data

To reset test data: 
psql "<connection_string>" -f docs/staging-testing/seed-staging.sql

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Next Steps

After completing notifications testing, proceed to: