Testing Procedures

Systematic testing skill covering strategy, patterns, and quality gates. Produces consistent, maintainable test suites across tech stacks.

When to Use

• Writing new tests for features or bug fixes
• Designing test strategy for a new project or module
• Evaluating existing test coverage and quality
• Setting up test infrastructure (fixtures, factories, mocks)
• Creating or updating TESTING.md documentation

When NOT to Use

• Running tests (use /run-tests workflow instead)
• Reviewing test code quality (use code-review skill)
• Validating CI pipeline configuration (use Agent(devops-engineer) role)

Test Pyramid

Follow the test pyramid for cost-effective coverage:

        /  E2E  \           Few — critical user journeys only
       /----------\
      / Integration \       Moderate — API, DB, service boundaries
     /----------------\
    /    Unit Tests     \   Many — fast, isolated, comprehensive
   /--------------------\

Test Design Principles

1. Test behavior, not implementation — assert outcomes, not internal calls
2. One assertion per concept — each test verifies one logical thing
3. Arrange-Act-Assert — clear structure in every test
4. Deterministic — no flaky tests. Mock time, randomness, external services
5. Independent — tests must not depend on execution order
6. Descriptive names — test name describes the scenario: should_return_404_when_user_not_found
7. Fast feedback — unit tests run in seconds, not minutes

Coverage Targets

Critical paths = authentication, authorization, payment, data mutations, error handling.

Key Context File

Projects should have a TESTING.md at the root (and per-service in monorepos) documenting test infrastructure, commands, credentials, and organization. Created by /project-init using Agent(qa-engineer). Always read TESTING.md before writing or running tests.

Integration

• Follows rules: Agent(qa-engineer) (test strategy, automation, local test infra), Agent(software-engineer) (code quality)
• Used by workflows: /test-local (full local QA cycle), /run-tests (lightweight execution), /project-init (TESTING.md generation), /feature-dev, /bugfix, /pre-commit
• Companion resources: test-writing-guide.md
• Template: templates/testing.template.md (root + per-service TESTING.md templates)
• Project context: TESTING.md (root + per-service)