Skill: bdd-anti-patterns

What I do

I identify common BDD anti-patterns and provide fixes to keep tests stable, maintainable, and business-focused.

When to use me

• Auditing existing Gherkin scenarios for fragility
• Refactoring slow or flaky E2E tests
• Moving low-level UI tests into unit test suites
• Clarifying vague or ambiguous test language
• Stabilising tests that depend on hard-coded data

Core principles

1. Test Behaviour, Not Presentation — Avoid testing modals, animations, or styling
2. Workflow over Mechanics — Don't test buttons, keys, or gestures directly
3. Outcome over Process — Focus on the goal achieved, not the steps taken
4. Data Flexibility — Use generated or relative data instead of hard-coded IDs
5. Single Responsibility — One business rule per scenario

Patterns & examples

Fixing Modal Testing:

• ❌ Bad: Then the settings modal should appear and be centred
• ✅ Fixed: Then I should be able to update my preferences

Fixing Keyboard Mechanics:

• ❌ Bad: When I press the "j" key
• ✅ Fixed: When I navigate down the list

Fixing Vague Outcomes:

• ❌ Bad: Then the output should be good
• ✅ Fixed: Then the total should be £108.25 (including 8.25% tax)

Fixing Brittle Data:

• ❌ Bad: Given user ID 12345 exists
• ✅ Fixed: Given I have a registered user account

Anti-patterns to avoid

• ❌ Modal Mechanics — Testing how a dialog opens instead of what it does
• ❌ Keyboard Shortcuts — Coupling tests to specific input methods
• ❌ Form Mechanics — Testing tab order or focus instead of data entry
• ❌ Implementation Details — Testing internal function calls or database queries
• ❌ Vague Language — Scenarios that a non-technical person cannot understand
• ❌ The "Mega-Scenario" — One scenario testing 20+ steps of an entire journey
• ❌ Character-by-character typing — Using TypeText() to fill form fields in BDD steps
• ❌ Tab navigation in steps — Using Tab/PressKey(tea.KeyTab) to move between form fields
• ❌ Field clearing in steps — Using ClearTextField()/PressKey(tea.KeyCtrlU)/backspace loops

KaRiya TUI Form Mechanics (CRITICAL)

BDD steps MUST be declarative — create data via domain/service layer, test behaviour only.

Anti-pattern: Form field typing

// ❌ Types chars one-by-one into huh form
func iAddANewFact(ctx context.Context, text string) (context.Context, error) {
    env := support.GetAppEnv(ctx)
    env.TypeText(text)  // Fragile, timing-dependent, tests form mechanics
    env.Confirm()
    return ctx, nil
}

Anti-pattern: Multi-step form navigation

// ❌ WRONG: Tab-type-tab-type chain tests form layout, not behaviour
func iCreateABurst(ctx context.Context, name, desc string) (context.Context, error) {
    env := support.GetAppEnv(ctx)
    env.ClearTextField()           // Clear existing text
    env.TypeText(name)             // Type into name field
    env.PressKey(tea.KeyTab)       // Tab to description
    env.TypeText(desc)             // Type into description field
    env.Confirm()                  // Submit
    return ctx, nil
}

Correct: Declarative data creation

// ✅ CORRECT: Create data via domain/service, inject into intent state
func iAddANewFact(ctx context.Context, text string) (context.Context, error) {
    env := support.GetAppEnv(ctx)
    fact := &career.Fact{Text: text}
    // Create via service/repo
    err := env.Service.SaveFact(ctx, fact)
    if err != nil { return ctx, err }
    // Wire into active intent's review state so it appears in the view
    intent := env.GetActiveIntent()
    intent.AddFactToReview(fact)
    return ctx, nil
}

Legitimate app interaction

Not anti-patterns — these test real app navigation:

• env.PressKeyRune('f') — Opening editors (app navigation)
• env.PressKeyRune('q') — Quitting (app navigation)
• env.Confirm() — Confirming dialogs/modals (app interaction)
• env.Cancel() / escape — Cancelling (app interaction)
• env.NavigateDown() — List navigation (app navigation)
• env.PressKeyRune('y'/'n') — Yes/no prompts (app interaction)

Decision rule

If the step is filling form fields or navigating between form controls, it is an anti-pattern. If the step is triggering an app action (open, close, navigate, confirm), it is legitimate.

KB Reference

~/vaults/baphled/3. Resources/Knowledge Base/AI Development System/Skills/Testing-BDD/BDD Anti Patterns.md

Related skills

• bdd-workflow - The foundational BDD development cycle
• bdd-best-practices - Positive patterns to follow
• e2e-testing - The execution layer for BDD scenarios
• test-fixtures - Managing data to avoid brittleness