> * "Try it Now" button sometimes drops below the "Learn More" button in FireFox
Use JavaScript or Selenium for that Test case. Get coordinates of buttons (getBoundingClientRect()) and compare them. Execute this test case on tons of different configurations.
> * Capitalization inconsistent in top nav
Easy to test. Also add spell checking along the way.
> Popup blockers occasionally stop the App window from opening properly
Selenium?
> Wierd timeout errors clumped around 1:00 am every few nights
You always can shift clock automatically (on Linux).
> Accounting needs to be able to call up weekly income reports
If it is missing feature, then no test case is need until you will start work on it.
PS.
If you want to automate your manual testing, you will look for ways to do that. If not, you will look for problems, which are prevents you from doing that.
> Wierd timeout errors clumped around 1:00 am every few nights
You always can shift clock automatically (on Linux).
Obviously a problem of this sort is not due to the mere numerical value of the time but rather some daily scheduled process that runs around 1am (perhaps a database backup) which interferes with the web app in some way. This sort of thing can be simulated but it's a non-trivial task and it's probably better to apply those efforts in other ways (by diagnosing the problem, putting in place a performance monitoring system, buying more hardware, etc.)
* find problem;
* identify root cause of the problem;
* write automated, semi-automated or manual test case, which will highlight problem;
* fix problem.
If you will not use test cases at development and staging stages, then you will just use your production environment for testing purposes. If your downtime cost you nothing - don't bother with test cases.
In our case, we had similar problem, so I created very simple test case in shell in less than 2 hours. We spent more than year until it was fully fixed.
Use JavaScript or Selenium for that Test case. Get coordinates of buttons (getBoundingClientRect()) and compare them. Execute this test case on tons of different configurations.
> * Capitalization inconsistent in top nav
Easy to test. Also add spell checking along the way.
> Popup blockers occasionally stop the App window from opening properly
Selenium?
> Wierd timeout errors clumped around 1:00 am every few nights
You always can shift clock automatically (on Linux).
> Accounting needs to be able to call up weekly income reports
If it is missing feature, then no test case is need until you will start work on it.
PS. If you want to automate your manual testing, you will look for ways to do that. If not, you will look for problems, which are prevents you from doing that.
I wrote example how to execute HTMLUnit tests at build stage because I want that. Almost everybody else says that this is not possible. ( http://vlisivka.pp.ua/en/integration_testing_with_maven_test... )