Reading a product without source access

Many reviews begin without repository access. That is normal in vendor evaluations and partner diligence. The skill is separating observable behavior from hopeful assumptions.

In the systems reading lab we start with public surfaces: documentation tone, status pages, API shape, latency under light probes, and what support tickets imply about failure modes. None of these replace code review—but together they bound what is safe to claim.

A useful habit is writing three columns: confirmed, inferred, and unknown. Confirmed items need a citation. Inferred items need a trigger that would promote or discard them. Unknowns become questions for the next call.

Trainees often rush to architecture diagrams. We ask them to wait until the evidence columns are filled. Diagrams drawn too early tend to decorate guesswork.