Bot research fails quickly when the lab changes underneath the experiment.
Environment drift
Browser versions, proxy configuration, local clocks, and extension state all change the evidence. A useful lab records those variables before the first request is sent.
Baseline first
Every detection run should include a clean browser path, an automated path, and a known-broken path. Without those baselines, every finding looks more important than it is.
What to keep
Save configuration, packet captures, request logs, and notes together. The goal is not a pretty notebook; it is a record another operator can replay.