diff --git a/BUILDING.md b/BUILDING.md
index b1e9673059..ae36969890 100644
--- a/BUILDING.md
+++ b/BUILDING.md
@@ -261,6 +261,11 @@ During the automated CI the unit tests and integration tests are run as part of
  - `make integration`: run all tests, including integration tests and those which require `root`. `TESTFLAGS_PARALLEL` can be used to control parallelism. For example, `TESTFLAGS_PARALLEL=1 make integration` will lead a non-parallel execution. The default value of `TESTFLAGS_PARALLEL` is **8**.
  - `make cri-integration`: [CRI Integration Tests](https://github.com/containerd/containerd/blob/main/docs/cri/testing.md#cri-integration-test) run cri integration tests
 
+A test that needs `root` calls `testutil.RequiresRoot`, which skips it unless
+`-test.root` is passed. `make test` skips those tests and still succeeds, so check
+whether the tests covering your change are among them. `make root-test` selects
+the packages that call the helper and runs them with `-test.root`.
+
 To execute a specific test or set of tests you can use the `go test` capabilities
 without using the `Makefile` targets. The following examples show how to specify a test
 name and also how to use the flag directly against `go test` to run root-requiring tests.
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 24be9746c2..9383487e5f 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -25,6 +25,21 @@ $ script/setup/install-dev-tools
 $ make install-deps
 ```
 
+## Pull request expectations
+
+- Before starting work on an issue, check whether an open pull request already
+  addresses it: look at the issue's linked pull requests and search open pull
+  requests for the issue number.
+- Document features and enhancements, both at the code level and in the
+  user-facing docs under `docs/`.
+- Test at the levels that fit the change: unit, integration, or end-to-end.
+  For failure injection in integration tests, use the failpoint pattern
+  (`internal/failpoint`, `integration/failpoint`).
+- Run `make check` and the tests that cover your change locally before opening
+  or updating a pull request.
+- Monitor your pull request's CI runs and make sure your changes are not
+  responsible for failures.
+
 ## Automated and AI-generated contributions
 
 Pull requests must be opened by a human. Any use of automation to create
diff --git a/docs/cri/testing.md b/docs/cri/testing.md
index 27742da0ac..f9bb444317 100644
--- a/docs/cri/testing.md
+++ b/docs/cri/testing.md
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ Before sending pull requests you should at least make sure your changes have pas
 Follow the [building](../../BUILDING.md) instructions.
 
 ## CRI Integration Test
+The tests need the host dependencies installed by `make install-deps` (see [CONTRIBUTING.md](../../CONTRIBUTING.md#setting-up-your-local-environment)).
 * Run all CRI integration tests:
 ```bash
 make cri-integration