/pair-capability-assess-testing — Testing Strategy Assessment

Evaluate and decide on the testing strategy: framework, pyramid distribution, coverage targets, and TDD approach. Follows the resolution cascade: explicit argument wins, then existing adoption, then full assessment from guidelines.

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description
$choice	No	Override: skip assessment, use this testing framework directly (e.g. vitest, jest)

Composed Skills

Skill	Type	Required
/pair-capability-record-decision	Capability	Yes — records testing decision as ADL or ADR

Proposal Target

The rendered adoption content is destined for this section — the caller writes it via /pair-capability-record-decision:

• Target: adoption/tech/tech-stack.md — testing section only
• Ownership: Testing section (shared file — /pair-capability-assess-stack owns core sections, /pair-capability-assess-ai owns AI section)

Adoption File

• Target: adoption/tech/tech-stack.md — testing section only
• Ownership: Testing section (shared file — /pair-capability-assess-stack owns core sections, /pair-capability-assess-ai owns AI section)

Algorithm

Step 1: Resolution Cascade

Path A — Argument Override

1. Check: Is $choice provided?

2. Skip: If not provided, go to Path B.

3. Act: Confirm the choice with the developer:

   Testing framework override: $choice. This will be adopted without full assessment. Confirm?

4. Check: Does tech-stack.md already have a testing section with a different framework?

   • If yes, warn: "Current testing framework is [existing]. Override to $choice?"

5. Verify: Developer confirms. Proceed to Step 2.

Path B — Adoption Exists

1. Check: Does adoption/tech/tech-stack.md exist and contain a populated Testing section?

2. Skip: If no testing section or section is empty/template, go to Path C.

3. Act: Read current testing adoption. Present:

   Testing strategy already adopted:

   • Framework: [name vX.Y]
   • Coverage tool: [name vX.Y]
   • Additional tools: [list]

   Adoption is current and valid.

4. Check: Does a corresponding decision record exist? (Scan adoption/decision-log/ or adoption/tech/adr/ for *testing* files.)

5. Act: If decision record missing, compose /pair-capability-record-decision to backfill.

6. Verify: Adoption and decision record consistent. Done — exit skill.

Path C — Full Assessment

1. Act: Proceed to Step 2 (full assessment mode).

Step 2: Read Guidelines

1. Act: Read testing guidelines:
   • Test Strategy README — strategic framework and philosophy
   • Test Pyramid — distribution strategy
   • Coverage Strategy — coverage requirements
   • TDD — TDD practices
2. Act: Read project context:
   • adoption/tech/tech-stack.md — language and framework (testing tools must be compatible)
   • adoption/product/PRD.md — project type and quality requirements (if available)
3. Verify: Guidelines and project context loaded.

Step 3: Evaluate Options

1. Act: Based on adopted language/framework, identify compatible testing frameworks:

   • For TypeScript/JavaScript: Vitest, Jest, Mocha, Playwright, Cypress
   • For other stacks: framework-appropriate options

2. Act: Evaluate frameworks against project needs:

   • Speed and DX (developer experience)
   • Compatibility with adopted tech stack
   • Coverage tooling quality
   • Community and maintenance status
   • TypeScript support quality

3. Act: Present recommendation with rationale:

   Testing Strategy Recommendation:

   • Framework: [name] v[X.Y] — [rationale]
   • Coverage: [tool] v[X.Y] — [rationale]
   • Additional: [e.g. path resolution plugin] — [rationale]
   • Pyramid: Unit [N%] > Integration [N%] > E2E [N%]
   • Coverage target: [N%] minimum

4. Verify: Developer approves the strategy.

Step 4: Write Adoption File

1. Check: Does adoption/tech/tech-stack.md exist?
2. Act: Write or update only the Testing section of tech-stack.md:
   • Framework name and version
   • Coverage tool and version
   • Additional testing tools with versions
   • Preserve all other sections (core, AI, etc.) untouched
3. Verify: Testing section written. Other sections preserved.

Step 5: Record Decision

1. Act: Compose /pair-capability-record-decision:
   • $type: non-architectural (testing framework is a tooling choice, not structural)
   • $topic: testing-strategy
   • $summary: "[Framework] vX.Y adopted as testing framework with [coverage target]% coverage"
2. Verify: ADL created at adoption/decision-log/YYYY-MM-DD-testing-strategy.md. Adoption file consistent with ADL.

Output Format

ASSESSMENT COMPLETE:
├── Domain:    Testing
├── Path:      [Argument Override | Adoption Exists | Full Assessment]
├── Decision:  [framework vX.Y + coverage tool + pyramid distribution]
├── Adoption:  [tech-stack.md testing section — written | confirmed | updated]
├── Record:    [ADL path — created | exists | backfilled]
└── Status:    [Complete | Confirmed existing]

Composition Interface

When composed by /pair-process-bootstrap:

• Input: /pair-process-bootstrap invokes /pair-capability-assess-testing during Phase 2. May pass $choice if developer pre-selected.
• Output: Returns decision summary and adoption file path.
• /pair-process-bootstrap includes adoption and ADL changes in the next commit.

When invoked independently:

• Full interactive flow. Developer commits changes when satisfied.

Edge Cases

• Argument conflicts with adoption: Warn developer, ask for confirmation. If confirmed, update testing section and create new decision record.
• tech-stack.md exists but no testing section: Add testing section, preserve all other content.
• Framework incompatible with adopted language: HALT — warn developer of incompatibility, suggest compatible alternatives.
• Decision record already exists for same scope+decision: Skip writing (no duplicates).
• Multiple valid frameworks score equally: Present top 2 with trade-off analysis, ask developer to choose.

Graceful Degradation

• If testing guidelines are not found, use minimal assessment: ask developer for framework preference based on language.
• If /pair-capability-record-decision is not installed, warn and skip decision recording.
• If tech-stack.md doesn't exist, create it with testing section as initial content. Warn: "Created tech-stack.md — other sections should be populated by /pair-capability-assess-stack."

Notes

• Testing decisions are typically non-architectural → produce ADL. Exception: if the testing strategy choice affects system structure (e.g. choosing contract testing that requires service boundaries), use ADR instead.
• Section ownership: this skill writes ONLY the Testing section of tech-stack.md. /pair-capability-assess-stack owns core sections, /pair-capability-assess-ai owns AI section.
• Version tracking: every testing tool includes specific version.
• The resolution cascade IS the idempotency mechanism: if testing section is populated, assessment is already done.
• Educational content (testing philosophy, principles, WHY) stays in guidelines. This skill references guidelines for framework comparison and strategy decisions.