testing-strategy

Testing Strategy

You are designing a testing strategy and test plan for this project or track.

Red Flags — STOP if you're:

• Writing a strategy without understanding the codebase
• Setting unrealistic coverage targets (100% is rarely appropriate)
• Focusing only on unit tests and ignoring integration/E2E
• Ignoring existing test infrastructure and conventions
• Not considering the testing pyramid for this project's architecture

A good testing strategy matches the architecture. Not every project needs the same pyramid.

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Pre-Check

0. Capture Git Context

Before starting, capture the current git state:

git branch --show-current    # Current branch name
git rev-parse --short HEAD   # Current commit hash

Store this for the report header. The strategy is scoped to this specific branch/commit.

1. Verify Draft Context

ls draft/ 2>/dev/null

If draft/ doesn't exist, this skill can still run standalone with reduced context.

2. Load Draft Context (if available)

Read and follow the base procedure in core/shared/draft-context-loading.md.

Step 1: Parse Arguments

• /draft:testing-strategy — Project-wide strategy (default if no active track)
• /draft:testing-strategy track <id> — Track-scoped strategy
• /draft:testing-strategy module <name> — Module-scoped strategy

Step 2: Analyze Codebase

1. Identify component types:

   • APIs (REST, GraphQL, gRPC)
   • Data pipelines (ETL, streaming)
   • Frontend (React, Vue, etc.)
   • Infrastructure (Terraform, K8s configs)
   • Libraries/SDKs
   • CLI tools

2. Discover existing tests:

   find . -name "*test*" -o -name "*spec*" | head -50
   

   Identify: test frameworks, test directories, existing coverage config, test runners.

3. Assess current coverage: Check for existing coverage reports or configuration:

   ls coverage/ .nyc_output/ htmlcov/ .coverage 2>/dev/null
   

4. Read project context:

   • draft/tech-stack.md — Test frameworks, testing conventions
   • draft/workflow.md — TDD preferences (strict/flexible/none)
   • draft/.ai-context.md — INVARIANTS section (critical paths), module boundaries, concurrency model
   • draft/guardrails.md — Anti-patterns that need test coverage
   • draft/product.md — Critical user flows that demand E2E tests

Step 3: Design Strategy

Testing Pyramid

Tailor to the project architecture:

        ┌─────────┐
        │  E2E    │  Few, critical paths only
        ├─────────┤
        │ Integr. │  Service boundaries, DB, APIs
        ├─────────┤
        │  Unit   │  Business logic, utilities
        └─────────┘

Adjust the pyramid shape per architecture. A microservices backend may need a wider integration band. A UI-heavy app may need more E2E. A library may be almost entirely unit tests.

Per-Component Strategy

Component Type	Unit	Integration	E2E	Focus
API endpoints	Input validation, handlers	DB queries, auth	Critical flows	Contract testing
Data pipelines	Transform logic	Source/sink connections	Full pipeline	Data integrity
Frontend	Component rendering, hooks	API integration	User journeys	Visual regression
Infrastructure	Config validation	Resource provisioning	Deployment	Drift detection
Libraries	Public API surface	Cross-module	Consumer scenarios	Backward compat
CLI tools	Argument parsing, logic	File I/O, system calls	Full workflows	Exit codes, output

Coverage Targets

Set realistic targets based on component criticality:

• Critical paths (from .ai-context.md INVARIANTS): 95%+
• Business logic: 85-90%
• Utilities/helpers: 80%
• Infrastructure/config: 70%
• Generated code: Exclude from targets
• Vendor/third-party wrappers: 60%

Test Quality Guidelines

Coverage alone is insufficient. Include guidance on:

• Assertion density: At least one meaningful assertion per test (not just "doesn't throw")
• Boundary testing: Edge cases, empty inputs, max values, off-by-one
• Error paths: Test failure modes, not just happy paths
• Isolation: Unit tests must not depend on external services, filesystem, or network
• Determinism: No time-dependent, order-dependent, or flaky tests
• Naming: Test names describe the scenario and expected outcome

Step 4: Gap Analysis

Compare current state to targets:

1. Run test discovery to count existing tests per module
2. Identify modules with zero test coverage
3. Identify critical paths (from INVARIANTS) without integration tests
4. Identify user flows (from product.md) without E2E coverage
5. Identify anti-patterns (from guardrails.md) without regression tests
6. Prioritize gaps by risk: high-risk untested > low-risk untested

Present as a gap matrix:

Module	Current Tests	Target	Gap	Risk	Priority
...	...	...	...	...	...

Step 5: Generate Test Plan

Priority test cases to write, ordered by impact:

1. Tests for critical invariants (from .ai-context.md)
2. Tests for anti-patterns (from guardrails.md) — regression prevention
3. Integration tests for service boundaries
4. E2E tests for critical user flows (from product.md)
5. Regression tests for known bugs
6. Property-based tests for complex business logic (if framework supports it)
7. Performance tests for latency-sensitive paths

For each priority test, specify:

• What: Description of the test scenario
• Why: Which invariant, anti-pattern, or flow it protects
• How: Test type (unit/integration/E2E), framework, key assertions
• Where: File path where the test should live

Step 6: Save Output

MANDATORY: Include YAML frontmatter with git metadata. Follow core/shared/git-report-metadata.md.

Include the report header table immediately after frontmatter:

| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| **Branch** | `{LOCAL_BRANCH}` → `{REMOTE/BRANCH}` |
| **Commit** | `{SHORT_SHA}` — {COMMIT_MESSAGE} |
| **Generated** | {ISO_TIMESTAMP} |
| **Synced To** | `{FULL_SHA}` |

Save to:

• Project-wide: draft/testing-strategy.md
• Track-scoped: draft/tracks/<id>/testing-strategy.md

Cross-Skill Dispatch

• Auto-loaded by: /draft:implement (before TDD cycle)
• Suggested by: /draft:decompose (after module definition), /draft:init (after setup)
• Feeds into: /draft:coverage (measurement against targets set here)
• References: /draft:bughunt findings as regression test candidates

Error Handling

If no test infrastructure found: Recommend test framework based on tech-stack.md, include setup steps needed before tests can be written If no draft context: Generate generic strategy, suggest running /draft:init for better results If conflicting test patterns found: Document both patterns, recommend consolidation as a tech-debt item