| name | qa-patterns |
| description | QA and testing reference - test strategy, patterns, coverage, CI/CD integration, and quality metrics. Language-agnostic. Use when designing test strategies, reviewing test quality, setting up CI/CD quality gates, or selecting testing tools. |
| user-invocable | true |
| argument-hint | [frameworks|patterns|architecture|practices|concepts|all] |
QA & Testing Architecture Reference (2024-2025)
Comprehensive language-agnostic reference for testing and quality assurance decisions. Use $ARGUMENTS to focus on a specific area, or browse all sections.
Quick Navigation
- For testing tools and frameworks by category, see frameworks.md
- For testing design patterns (AAA, POM, TDD, anti-patterns), see design-patterns.md
- For test architecture (pyramid, CI/CD, quality gates, microservices), see architecture.md
- For best practices (naming, flaky tests, coverage, metrics), see best-practices.md
- For testing concepts (performance, security, contract, chaos), see testing-concepts.md
Decision Framework
- Test Pyramid: 70% unit / 20% integration / 10% E2E
- Unit framework: Vitest (JS/TS), pytest (Python), JUnit 5 (Java), Go
testing, Swift Testing, RSpec (Ruby), NUnit/xUnit (.NET)
- E2E/UI: Playwright (web), Appium (mobile)
- Performance: k6
- Contract testing: Pact
- Security: SonarQube (SAST), OWASP ZAP (DAST), Snyk (dependency scanning)
- Mutation testing: Stryker (JS/TS/.NET), PIT (Java), mutmut (Python)
- BDD: Cucumber (multi-language), Behave (Python), SpecFlow (.NET)
Testing Approach Comparison
| Aspect | TDD | BDD | Exploratory |
|---|
| Who writes | Developer | Dev + QA + PO | QA / Tester |
| When | Before code | Before/during feature | After feature |
| Language | Code (assertions) | Gherkin (Given/When/Then) | Session notes |
| Primary value | Design feedback, regression safety | Shared understanding, living docs | Find unexpected bugs |
| Cost | Medium (upfront investment) | High (3-layer translation) | Low (no automation) |
| Best for | Logic-heavy code, APIs | User-facing features, acceptance | Complex UX, edge cases |
| Output | Unit/integration tests | Executable specifications | Bug reports, test charters |
Quality Maturity Levels
| Level | Description | Key Indicators |
|---|
| 0 - Ad hoc | No formal testing | Manual testing only, no CI |
| 1 - Reactive | Some unit tests | Tests written after bugs, <30% coverage |
| 2 - Managed | Consistent testing | CI pipeline, >60% coverage, test reviews |
| 3 - Proactive | Quality-first | TDD, >80% coverage, quality gates, mutation testing |
| 4 - Optimized | Continuous improvement | Metrics-driven, chaos engineering, shift-left security |
Related Skills
