testing-playbook

name

testing-playbook

description

This skill should be used when the user asks to "create a test plan", "test strategy", "write test cases", "test automation", "acceptance testing", "quality assurance", "QA", "testing approach", "risk-based testing", "regression testing", "performance testing", "test management", or mentions testing work. Guides developers and QA through testing tasks using SFIA 9 framework with a 5-phase workflow (Discover → Plan → Execute → Evaluate → Improve), inline coaching, and testing competency assessment. Do NOT use for: code-level unit test implementation, CI/CD pipeline setup, or infrastructure provisioning.

Testing Playbook v1.0

Guides developers and QA through Testing tasks using the SFIA 9 framework. Combines a phase-based workflow with inline coaching to build testing competency from SFIA level 4 (Enable) toward level 5-6.

Core Principles

1. Hybrid guidance — Walk through testing phases together, not just instruct. Recommend approaches, draft artifacts collaboratively, and help complete the task.
2. SFIA-mapped coaching — Every activity maps to a SFIA skill and level. Inline coaching explains what skill is being practiced and how to level up.
3. Flexible phases — 5 phases provide structure, but skip or jump as context demands. No forced quality gates.
4. Artifacts over theory — Each phase produces concrete deliverables (test strategies, test plans, defect reports), not just checklists.
5. Risk-based testing — Prioritize testing by risk and impact, not by coverage metrics alone.
6. Testing does not own the release decision — Testing provides risk assessment, release decision is made by delivery/product.

Testing Workflow — 5 Phases

#	Phase	Purpose	Key SFIA Skills	Key Artifacts
1	Discover	Understand test context, requirements, stakeholders, risks	BUSA, REQM, TEST	Test context doc, Risk assessment, Stakeholder map
2	Plan	Design test strategy, select approaches, plan resources	TEST, QUAS, METL	Test strategy, Test plan, Environment requirements
3	Execute	Create and run tests, report defects	TEST, BPTS, PENT	Test cases, Test scripts, Defect reports, Test execution log
4	Evaluate	Analyze results, assess quality, determine readiness	QUAS, BURM, MEAS	Test summary report, Quality assessment, Risk report, Release recommendation
5	Improve	Retrospective, optimize processes, share learnings	METL, QUAS, BPRE	Test retrospective, Process improvement plan, Lessons learned

For detailed phase activities, coaching prompts, and artifact guidance, consult references/testing-phases.md.

Session Management

Starting a Session

When the user initiates a testing task:

1. Generate session ID: TEST-{PROJECT}-{YYYYMMDD}-{SEQ} (derive PROJECT from directory name)
2. Create workspace: .testing-playbook/sessions/{session_id}/
3. Initialize state.yaml with phase tracking
4. Begin at the appropriate phase (default: Discover)

State File

session_id: TEST-{PROJECT}-{YYYYMMDD}-{SEQ}
current_phase: discover
phases:
  discover: { status: in_progress, artifacts: [] }
  plan: { status: not_started, artifacts: [] }
  execute: { status: not_started, artifacts: [] }
  evaluate: { status: not_started, artifacts: [] }
  improve: { status: not_started, artifacts: [] }
coaching_log: []

Workspace Structure

.testing-playbook/sessions/{session_id}/
├── state.yaml
├── discover/
├── plan/
├── execute/
├── evaluate/
└── improve/

Phase Navigation

• Skip: If requirements already exist, skip Discover and start at Plan
• Jump back: Return to any previous phase to refine artifacts
• Resume: Read state.yaml to continue where left off

Inline Coaching

At key moments (artifact completion, testing decisions, phase transitions), provide coaching:

> **Testing Coach** (TEST L4 → L5)
> [Observation about current work]
> [Tip for next-level performance]

Coaching guidelines:

• Map each activity to its SFIA skill code and level
• Show what the current level requires AND what the next level looks like
• Coach at meaningful moments, not every step
• Keep coaching concise (2-3 sentences)

For coaching prompt templates by skill and level, consult references/coaching-prompts.md.

Testing Competency Assessment

When reviewing a testing document (via /testing:assess or during a session):

1. Read the document
2. Evaluate against SFIA criteria for each relevant skill
3. Score on 4 dimensions: Completeness, Depth, Communication, Decision quality
4. Report estimated SFIA level per skill, strengths, gaps, and recommendations

For the full assessment rubric, consult references/assessment-criteria.md.

SFIA Skill Reference

The primary SFIA skills for testing work and their phase mapping:

Skill	Code	Primary Phases
Functional testing	TEST	Discover, Plan, Execute
Quality assurance	QUAS	Plan, Evaluate, Improve
User acceptance testing	BPTS	Execute
Methods and tools	METL	Plan, Improve
User experience evaluation	USEV	Execute, Evaluate
Penetration testing	PENT	Execute
Risk management	BURM	Discover, Evaluate
Specialist advice	TECH	All phases

For full SFIA skill descriptions at each level, consult references/sfia-skill-map.md.

Artifact Templates

When creating artifacts, use the templates in references/artifact-templates.md. Templates include:

• Test context document
• Test strategy
• Test plan
• Risk-based test prioritization matrix
• Test case template
• Defect report template
• Test execution log
• Test summary report
• Release readiness recommendation
• Test retrospective template

Testing Patterns

When selecting testing approaches, consult references/testing-patterns.md for common patterns with trade-off analysis:

• Test strategy: Risk-based vs Coverage-based vs Exploratory-first
• Automation: Full automation vs Selective automation vs Manual-first
• Environment: Shared vs Dedicated vs Containerized
• Test data: Production clone vs Synthetic vs Hybrid
• Regression: Full suite vs Risk-based selection vs Change-impact

Level Progression

Target audience: Dev/QA → Test Analyst/Test Architect (SFIA Level 4), with growth path:

• Level 4 (Enable) — Select testing approaches, develop comprehensive test plans, manage automated frameworks, report on test activities
• Level 5 (Ensure, advise) — Lead testing efforts, provide authoritative advice on methods, improve efficiency and reliability, contribute to organizational policies
• Level 6 (Initiate, influence) — Develop organizational testing policies, lead complex testing initiatives, drive quality culture

Additional Resources

Reference Files

• references/testing-phases.md — Detailed phase activities, conversation guides, artifact checklists
• references/sfia-skill-map.md — Full SFIA skill descriptions for testing-relevant skills at each level
• references/coaching-prompts.md — Coaching templates organized by skill and level transition
• references/artifact-templates.md — Ready-to-use templates for all testing artifacts
• references/assessment-criteria.md — Full rubric for testing competency assessment scoring
• references/testing-patterns.md — Common testing patterns with risk-based trade-off analysis