QA policy, facts and authority

Apply standards/evidence-lifecycle.md, standards/notes-adr-sync.md and existing collaboration authority. Read actual workflow/workflow-catalog.yaml, domain, current transition and established project QA scope, including initialized memory_bank/t1_axioms/qa_context.md or the existing owning Story/plan/decision. QA orchestration is optional by default; strict obligations need explicit source, authority and exact checks/scope. Review mode does not select strict QA. Absent optional Memory Bank/QA Context with no actual strict selection uses the catalog's default optional orchestration; disclose absence without requiring initialization. Unknown applies to unresolved actual required applicability or conflicting policy, not optional context absence. Resolve that affected scope before dependent claims; Honor actual user-specified per-effect approval conditions when determining coverage; do not invent strict obligations or passing results. Optional orchestration never waives required Story AC, governing DoD, decisions, evidence or required review. Type tables are starting points; actual owners decide requirements. Each required check retains PASS/FAIL/NotRun/Blocked/Pending; N/A needs a governing applicability reason and cannot erase a failure.

Separate sufficiency, actual execution, independence, acceptance and completion. Files/keywords/counts, planning cases and self-checks prove none of the other facts. Read relied-on bodies and minimum required direct/indirect dependency closure; retain full SHA-256/byte sizes, recoverable originals and original-path witnesses. Disclose reading omissions. Exact bound historical results may be reused only where selected workflow permits, labeled historical with original runtime/observer, inputs and scope; never call them this run's execution. Missing required originals or observations leave affected checks incomplete. Risk acceptance is a separate scoped record; it cannot change FAIL/NotRun/Blocked/Pending to PASS or completion.

Reuse named paths/effects authority across roles/retries; before new authority show draft and complete effect set, asking only for material new scope. Review-only invokes no write entrypoint. Report-only writes its new report, excluding inputs, indexes, session/sprint/stage state and closure. Existing report paths require a new revision with prior evidence preserved; index effects need their own covered scope and historical links. Optional Memory Bank absence uses Story/report/ conversation fallback without initialization, publication or activation.

User Guide

• When to use: Map test coverage to CDD critical paths, identify fixed bugs without regression tests, flag coverage drift from new features, and maintain tests/regression-suite.md. Run after implementing a bug fix or before a release gate.
• Inputs: Command arguments: /regression-suite [update | audit | report]; project artifacts referenced below; user decisions and approvals before writes.
• Outputs: Primary artifacts, reports, or conversation guidance described below; write files only after user approval.
• Memory-bank writes: None.
• Next steps: Follow the workflow hand-off or next-step guidance below; recommendations do not auto-run and require explicit user command/approval.

Phase 0: Domain Routing

Resolve actual domain from substantive concept bodies, configured fields and explicit project decisions under standards/technical-preferences.md before mapping coverage. Populated legacy Product configuration can establish Product without a concept; filenames/placeholders alone cannot. Conflicts or absent actual evidence leave the affected route Unknown while neutral checks continue.

For the resolved domain:

• design/cdd/game-concept.md -> [Game] map regression tests to game critical paths, CDD acceptance criteria, save/load, levels, combat, UI/HUD, and playtest-derived bugs.
• design/cdd/product-concept.md -> [Product] map regression tests to API contracts, CLI commands, workflows, migrations, auth/permissions, configuration, data integrity, deployment smoke checks, and user-facing UI paths.
• If still unresolved after reading those owners, ask whether coverage should be organized around game critical paths or product workflows/contracts.

Keep game regression examples. Product regression mapping is added beside them.

Dual-Domain Parity Contract

Area	Game branch	Product branch
Context reads	Game Concept, module index, CDD acceptance/formulas/edge cases, closed bugs, unit/integration tests, playtest-derived issues	Product Concept, module index, CDD acceptance/contracts/data/edge cases, closed bugs, unit/integration/contract/CLI/migration tests, deployment smoke records
Steps	Map mechanics, save/load, combat, levels, UI/HUD, formulas, and known bugs to regression coverage	Map endpoints, commands, workflows, migrations, auth/permissions, config, data integrity, deployment smoke, and known bugs to regression coverage
Outputs	tests/regression-suite.md entries for critical game paths and fixed bugs	tests/regression-suite.md entries for product contracts/workflows/ops paths and fixed bugs
Next steps	Add missing tests, update /qa-plan, run /smoke-check	Add missing contract/CLI/migration/permission/deployment tests, update /qa-plan, run /smoke-check

Regression Suite

This skill ensures that every bug fix is backed by a test that would have caught the original bug — and that the regression suite stays current as the game evolves. It also detects when new features have been added without corresponding regression coverage.

A regression suite is not a new test category — it is a curated list of tests already in tests/** that collectively cover the game's critical paths** and known failure points. This skill maintains that list.

Output: tests/regression-suite.md

When to run:

• After fixing a bug (confirm a regression test was written or identify gap)
• Before relevant release verification under actual catalog/current phase/selected regression scope
• As part of sprint close to detect coverage drift

---

1. Parse Arguments

Modes:

• /regression-suite update — scan new bug fixes this sprint and check for regression test presence; add new tests to the suite manifest
• /regression-suite audit — full audit of all CDD critical paths vs. existing test coverage; flag paths with no regression test
• /regression-suite report — read-only status report (no writes); suitable for sprint reviews
• No argument — run update if a sprint is active, else audit

---

2. Load Context

Step 2a — Load existing regression suite

Read tests/regression-suite.md if it exists. Extract:

• Total registered regression tests
• Last updated date
• Any tests flagged as STALE or QUARANTINED

If absent disclose it; report mode never creates it. Update/audit may draft a manifest for covered writes.

Step 2b — Load test inventory

Glob all test files:

tests/unit/**/*_test.*
tests/integration/**/*_test.*
tests/regression/**/*

For each file, note the system (from directory path) and file name. Discovery is inventory only. Read relied-on test bodies/helpers/fixtures and required results before assigning coverage. Include actual configured Product API/CLI/migration/auth/smoke/E2E paths; filenames prove no behavior or execution.

Step 2c — Load CDD critical paths

For audit mode: read design/cdd/module-index.md to get all systems. For each MVP-tier system, read its CDD and extract:

• Acceptance Criteria (these define the critical paths)
• Formulas section (formulas must have regression tests)
• Edge Cases section (known edge cases should have regression tests)

For update mode: skip full CDD scan. Instead read the current sprint plan and story files to find stories with Status: Complete this sprint.

Step 2d — Load closed bugs

Glob production/qa/bugs/*.md for candidate Closed/Fixed records, then read each relied-on complete original Bug/fix and required attachments. Verify failure scenario, fix scope, test input identity and unresolved actions. Status/keywords/last-line quotes do not prove full reading or resolution; disclose unavailable originals/omissions. Note:

• Which story or system the bug was in
• Whether a regression test was mentioned in the fix description

---

3. Map Coverage — Critical Paths

For audit mode only:

For each CDD acceptance criterion, determine whether a test exists:

1. Grep tests/unit/[system]/ and tests/integration/[system]/ for file names and function names related to the criterion's key noun/verb
2. Assign coverage:

Status	Meaning
COVERED	Actual read behavioral oracle addresses AC and required cases; execution separate
PARTIAL	A test exists but doesn't cover all cases (e.g. happy path only)
MISSING	No test found for this critical path
EXEMPT	Justified automation N/A only; required manual/visual evidence still applies

3. Elevate MISSING items that correspond to formulas or state machines to HIGH PRIORITY gap — these are the most likely regression sources.

---

4. Map Coverage — Fixed Bugs

For each closed bug:

1. Extract the system slug from the bug's metadata
2. Grep tests/unit/[system]/ and tests/integration/[system]/ for a test that references the bug ID or the specific failure scenario
3. Read actual regression behavior against the complete original Bug scenario; verify setup/stimulus/oracle would catch the original failure. Record static coverage separately from actual pre-fix/post-fix execution (NotRun if absent):
   • HAS REGRESSION TEST — semantic coverage bound to actual failure scenario
   • MISSING REGRESSION TEST — no adequate guard for the known scenario
   • INCOMPLETE — required Bug/test/dependency input unavailable or scope unknown

For MISSING REGRESSION TEST items:

• Flag them as regression gaps
• Suggest the test file path: tests/unit/[system]/[bug-slug]_regression_test.[ext]
• Note: "Without this test, this bug can silently return in a future sprint."

---

5. Detect Coverage Drift

Coverage drift occurs when the game grows but the regression suite doesn't.

Check for drift indicators:

• Stories completed this sprint with no corresponding test files in tests/
• New systems added to module-index.md since the last regression-suite update
• CDD sections added or revised since the regression suite was last updated (use Grep on CDD file modification hints if available, or ask the user)
• tests/regression-suite.md last-updated date vs. current date — if gap > 2 sprints, flag as likely stale

---

6. Generate Report and Suite Manifest

Report format (in conversation)

## Regression Suite Status

**Mode**: [update | audit | report]
**Existing registered tests**: [N]
**Test files scanned**: [N]

### Critical Path Coverage (audit mode only)
| System | Total ACs | Covered | Partial | Missing | Exempt |
|--------|-----------|---------|---------|---------|--------|
| [name] | [N] | [N] | [N] | [N] | [N] |

**Coverage rate (non-exempt)**: [N]%

### Bug Regression Coverage
| Bug ID | System | Severity | Has Regression Test? |
|--------|--------|----------|----------------------|
| BUG-NNN | [system] | S[N] | YES / NO ⚠ |

**Bugs without regression tests**: [N]

### Coverage Drift Indicators
[List new systems or stories with no test coverage, or "None detected."]

### Recommended New Regression Tests
| Priority | System | Suggested Test File | Covers |
|----------|--------|---------------------|--------|
| HIGH | [system] | `tests/unit/[system]/[slug]_regression_test.[ext]` | BUG-NNN / AC-[N] |
| MEDIUM | [system] | `tests/unit/[system]/[slug]_test.[ext]` | [criterion] |

Suite manifest format (tests/regression-suite.md)

The manifest is a curated index — not the tests themselves, but a registry of which tests should always pass before a release:

# Regression Suite Manifest

> Last Updated: [date]
> Total registered tests: [N]
> Coverage: [N]% of CDD critical paths

## How to run

[Engine-specific command to run all regression tests]

## Registered Regression Tests

### [System Name]

| Test File | Test Function (if known) | Covers | Added |
|-----------|--------------------------|--------|-------|
| `tests/unit/[system]/[file]_test.[ext]` | `test_[scenario]` | AC-N / BUG-NNN | [date] |

## Known Gaps

Tests that should exist but don't yet:

| Priority | System | Suggested Path | Covers | Reason Not Yet Written |
|----------|--------|----------------|--------|------------------------|
| HIGH | [system] | `tests/unit/[system]/[path]` | BUG-NNN | Bug fixed without test |

## Quarantined Tests

Tests that are flaky or disabled (do not run in CI):

| Test File | Function | Reason | Quarantined Since |
|-----------|----------|--------|-------------------|
| (none) | | | |

---

7. Write Output

Reuse existing named authorization for this manifest create/update effect. Only if missing or materially new ask: "May I write/update tests/regression-suite.md with the current regression suite manifest?"

For update mode: append new entries; never remove existing entries (use Edit with targeted insertions). For audit mode: update covered entries/facts, preserving tests, quarantines, unique rationale and historical evidence. Whole-manifest replacement/removal needs separate explicit scope. For report mode: do not write anything.

After writing (if approved):

• For each HIGH priority gap: "Consider creating the missing regression test before the next sprint. Run /test-helpers to scaffold the test file."
• If bug regression gaps > 0: "These bugs can silently return without regression tests. The next sprint should include a story to write the missing tests."
• If coverage drift detected: "Regression suite may be drifting. Consider running /regression-suite audit at the next sprint boundary."

Manifest operation COMPLETE only after its authorized update. Report mode reports without writing. Coverage/execution gaps remain actual MISSING/INCOMPLETE/FAIL/NotRun; no Story or release completion is implied. Declined writes leave the draft unwritten.

---

Collaborative Protocol

• Never remove existing regression tests from the manifest without explicit user approval — removing a test that was deliberately written is a regression risk itself
• Required gaps block dependent claims — selected required AC/regression evidence precedes affected closure; optional coverage is advisory with owner/due phase. Follow actual catalog/current phase; do not invent a universal regression artifact gate.
• Quarantine is not deletion — tests with intermittent failures should be quarantined (noted in manifest) but not removed; they should be fixed by /test-flakiness
• Resolve manifest-write authority: reuse covered named path/effect authorization; only missing authority or materially new scope needs confirmation before creating/updating the manifest.