diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,6 +1,11 @@
 Changes
 =======
 
+Version 0.11.0.2
+----------------
+
+Clarify `IsTest`’s specification with regard to exceptions
+
 Version 0.11.0.1
 ----------------
 
diff --git a/Test/Tasty/Core.hs b/Test/Tasty/Core.hs
--- a/Test/Tasty/Core.hs
+++ b/Test/Tasty/Core.hs
@@ -18,12 +18,14 @@
 -- | If a test failed, 'FailureReason' describes why
 data FailureReason
   = TestFailed
-    -- ^ test provider indicated failure
+    -- ^ test provider indicated failure of the code to test, either because
+    -- the tested code returned wrong results, or raised an exception
   | TestThrewException SomeException
-    -- ^ test resulted in an exception. Note that some test providers may
-    -- catch exceptions in order to provide more meaningful errors. In that
-    -- case, the 'FailureReason' will be 'TestFailed', not
-    -- 'TestThrewException'.
+    -- ^ the test code itself raised an exception. Typical cases include missing
+    -- example input or output files.
+    --
+    -- Usually, providers do not have to implement this, as their 'run' method
+    -- may simply raise an exception.
   | TestTimedOut Integer
     -- ^ test didn't complete in allotted time
   deriving Show
@@ -95,6 +97,12 @@
 -- the provider.
 class Typeable t => IsTest t where
   -- | Run the test
+  --
+  -- This method should cleanly catch any exceptions in the code to test, and
+  -- return them as part of the 'Result', see 'FailureReason' for an
+  -- explanation. It is ok for 'run' to raise an exception if there is a
+  -- problem with the test suite code itself (for example, if a file that
+  -- should contain example data or expected output is not found).
   run
     :: OptionSet -- ^ options
     -> t -- ^ the test to run
diff --git a/tasty.cabal b/tasty.cabal
--- a/tasty.cabal
+++ b/tasty.cabal
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 --  see http://haskell.org/cabal/users-guide/
 
 name:                tasty
-version:             0.11.0.1
+version:             0.11.0.2
 synopsis:            Modern and extensible testing framework
 description:         Tasty is a modern testing framework for Haskell.
                      It lets you combine your unit tests, golden