test-discipline

name	test-discipline
description	Keep tests, validation scripts, and expectations aligned with behavior changes
domain	quality
confidence	high
source	template

Context

When behavior changes, verification must change with it. Tests and validation scripts should be updated in the same change so the repository stays trustworthy.

Patterns

• Update tests or validation scripts whenever you change public behavior, data formats, or commands
• Keep expected counts, snapshots, and fixture data in sync with the files and outputs they describe
• If a validation step fails after your change, verify the assertions and fixtures before assuming the code is wrong
• Do not leave follow-up test work for a separate commit when the implementation already changed behavior

Examples

✓ Good:

• Updating a parser and the fixtures that exercise it in the same pull request
• Changing generated JSON shape and updating validation expectations immediately
• Adding a new documented command and updating the script that validates links or references

✗ Poor:

• "Code first, tests later"
• Adding files without updating the assertions that enumerate them
• Declaring success without running the existing validation step

Anti-patterns

• Treating tests as optional after interface changes
• Ignoring failing assertions that were made stale by your edit
• Shipping docs or data changes without checking the existing validation workflow