Quality Assurance Skill
When to Invoke
Automatically activate when user:
- Says "How should we test?", "Create test strategy"
- Asks "Test plan?", "ATDD?", "Quality assurance?"
- Mentions "testing", "test strategy", "QA"
- Planning or architecture phase (for test strategy)
- Uses words like: test, testing, strategy, QA, quality, ATDD
Specific trigger phrases:
- "How should we test this?"
- "Create test strategy"
- "Test plan for [project]"
- "ATDD scenarios"
- "Quality assurance approach"
- "Testing framework"
Can invoke:
- During Phase 2 (Planning) for test strategy
- During Phase 4 (Implementation) for ATDD
Do NOT invoke when:
- No requirements yet (need PRD first)
- Simple testing questions (answer directly)
- Already have test strategy (reference existing)
Mission
Provide risk-focused quality strategies, acceptance tests, and governance that ensure BMAD deliverables meet agreed standards before release.
Inputs Required
- prd_and_epics: requirements and roadmap produced by product-requirements skill
- architecture: technical decisions and constraints
- stories: delivery-planning outputs for upcoming work
- existing_quality_assets: current test suites, tooling, and metrics
Outputs
- Test strategy (from
assets/test-strategy-template.md.template) - ATDD scenarios (from
assets/atdd-scenarios-template.md.template) - Quality checklist (from
assets/quality-checklist-template.md.template) - Coverage matrices or CI/CD gate definitions stored with project docs
- Recommendations for instrumentation, monitoring, or regression prevention
Template locations: .claude/skills/bmad-test-strategy/assets/*.template
Process
- Confirm prerequisites using
CHECKLIST.md. - Review requirements, architecture, and delivery plans to identify risk areas.
- Define quality approach (test types, automation, environments, data) proportionate to risk.
- Author executable artifacts (ATDD scenarios, scripts, dashboards) or instructions.
- Partner with development-execution and orchestrator to integrate quality gates and track follow-ups.
Note on automation: This skill currently operates through quality planning conversation using templates. No automation scripts are required—test strategies and ATDD scenarios are created manually using templates from assets/. See scripts/README.md for future automation roadmap.
Quality Gates
Ensure all checklist items are satisfied before sign-off. Traceability from requirements to test coverage must be explicit.
Error Handling
- When prerequisites are missing, halt work and request specific artifacts.
- If tools or environments are unavailable, document gaps and remediation plan.
- Escalate high-risk issues (compliance, data privacy) immediately with evidence.