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Test Design and Risk Assessment

Workflow ID: .bmad/bmm/testarch/test-design Version: 4.0 (BMad v6)

Overview

Plans comprehensive test coverage strategy with risk assessment, priority classification, and execution ordering. This workflow operates in two modes:

System-Level Mode (Phase 3): Testability review of architecture before solutioning gate check
Epic-Level Mode (Phase 4): Per-epic test planning with risk assessment (current behavior)

The workflow auto-detects which mode to use based on project phase.

Preflight: Detect Mode and Load Context

Critical: Determine mode before proceeding.

Mode Detection

Check for sprint-status.yaml
- If {output_folder}/bmm-sprint-status.yaml exists → Epic-Level Mode (Phase 4)
- If NOT exists → Check workflow status
Check workflow-status.yaml
- Read {output_folder}/bmm-workflow-status.yaml
- If implementation-readiness: required or implementation-readiness: recommended → System-Level Mode (Phase 3)
- Otherwise → Epic-Level Mode (Phase 4 without sprint status yet)
Mode-Specific Requirements

System-Level Mode (Phase 3 - Testability Review):
- ✅ Architecture document exists (architecture.md or tech-spec)
- ✅ PRD exists with functional and non-functional requirements
- ✅ Epics documented (epics.md)
- ⚠️ Output: {output_folder}/test-design-system.md
Epic-Level Mode (Phase 4 - Per-Epic Planning):
- ✅ Story markdown with acceptance criteria available
- ✅ PRD or epic documentation exists for context
- ✅ Architecture documents available (optional but recommended)
- ✅ Requirements are clear and testable
- ⚠️ Output: {output_folder}/test-design-epic-{epic_num}.md

Halt Condition: If mode cannot be determined or required files missing, HALT and notify user with missing prerequisites.

Step 1: Load Context (Mode-Aware)

Mode-Specific Loading:

System-Level Mode (Phase 3)

Read Architecture Documentation
- Load architecture.md or tech-spec (REQUIRED)
- Load PRD.md for functional and non-functional requirements
- Load epics.md for feature scope
- Identify technology stack decisions (frameworks, databases, deployment targets)
- Note integration points and external system dependencies
- Extract NFR requirements (performance SLOs, security requirements, etc.)
Load Knowledge Base Fragments (System-Level)

Critical: Consult {project-root}/.bmad/bmm/testarch/tea-index.csv to load:
- nfr-criteria.md - NFR validation approach (security, performance, reliability, maintainability)
- test-levels-framework.md - Test levels strategy guidance
- risk-governance.md - Testability risk identification
- test-quality.md - Quality standards and Definition of Done
Analyze Existing Test Setup (if brownfield)
- Search for existing test directories
- Identify current test framework (if any)
- Note testability concerns in existing codebase

Epic-Level Mode (Phase 4)

Read Requirements Documentation
- Load PRD.md for high-level product requirements
- Read epics.md or specific epic for feature scope
- Read story markdown for detailed acceptance criteria
- Identify all testable requirements
Load Architecture Context
- Read architecture.md for system design
- Read tech-spec for implementation details
- Read test-design-system.md (if exists from Phase 3)
- Identify technical constraints and dependencies
- Note integration points and external systems
Analyze Existing Test Coverage
- Search for existing test files in {test_dir}
- Identify coverage gaps
- Note areas with insufficient testing
- Check for flaky or outdated tests
Load Knowledge Base Fragments (Epic-Level)

Critical: Consult {project-root}/.bmad/bmm/testarch/tea-index.csv to load:
- risk-governance.md - Risk classification framework (6 categories: TECH, SEC, PERF, DATA, BUS, OPS), automated scoring, gate decision engine, owner tracking (625 lines, 4 examples)
- probability-impact.md - Risk scoring methodology (probability × impact matrix, automated classification, dynamic re-assessment, gate integration, 604 lines, 4 examples)
- test-levels-framework.md - Test level selection guidance (E2E vs API vs Component vs Unit with decision matrix, characteristics, when to use each, 467 lines, 4 examples)
- test-priorities-matrix.md - P0-P3 prioritization criteria (automated priority calculation, risk-based mapping, tagging strategy, time budgets, 389 lines, 2 examples)

Halt Condition (Epic-Level only): If story data or acceptance criteria are missing, check if brownfield exploration is needed. If neither requirements NOR exploration possible, HALT with message: "Epic-level test design requires clear requirements, acceptance criteria, or brownfield app URL for exploration"

Step 1.5: System-Level Testability Review (Phase 3 Only)

Skip this step if Epic-Level Mode. This step only executes in System-Level Mode.

Actions

Review Architecture for Testability

Evaluate architecture against these criteria:

Controllability:
- Can we control system state for testing? (API seeding, factories, database reset)
- Are external dependencies mockable? (interfaces, dependency injection)
- Can we trigger error conditions? (chaos engineering, fault injection)
Observability:
- Can we inspect system state? (logging, metrics, traces)
- Are test results deterministic? (no race conditions, clear success/failure)
- Can we validate NFRs? (performance metrics, security audit logs)
Reliability:
- Are tests isolated? (parallel-safe, stateless, cleanup discipline)
- Can we reproduce failures? (deterministic waits, HAR capture, seed data)
- Are components loosely coupled? (mockable, testable boundaries)
Identify Architecturally Significant Requirements (ASRs)

From PRD NFRs and architecture decisions, identify quality requirements that:
- Drive architecture decisions (e.g., "Must handle 10K concurrent users" → caching architecture)
- Pose testability challenges (e.g., "Sub-second response time" → performance test infrastructure)
- Require special test environments (e.g., "Multi-region deployment" → regional test instances)
Score each ASR using risk matrix (probability × impact).
Define Test Levels Strategy

Based on architecture (mobile, web, API, microservices, monolith):
- Recommend unit/integration/E2E split (e.g., 70/20/10 for API-heavy, 40/30/30 for UI-heavy)
- Identify test environment needs (local, staging, ephemeral, production-like)
- Define testing approach per technology (Playwright for web, Maestro for mobile, k6 for performance)
Assess NFR Testing Approach

For each NFR category:
- Security: Auth/authz tests, OWASP validation, secret handling (Playwright E2E + security tools)
- Performance: Load/stress/spike testing with k6, SLO/SLA thresholds
- Reliability: Error handling, retries, circuit breakers, health checks (Playwright + API tests)
- Maintainability: Coverage targets, code quality gates, observability validation
Flag Testability Concerns

Identify architecture decisions that harm testability:
- ❌ Tight coupling (no interfaces, hard dependencies)
- ❌ No dependency injection (can't mock external services)
- ❌ Hardcoded configurations (can't test different envs)
- ❌ Missing observability (can't validate NFRs)
- ❌ Stateful designs (can't parallelize tests)
Critical: If testability concerns are blockers (e.g., "Architecture makes performance testing impossible"), document as CONCERNS or FAIL recommendation for gate check.

Output System-Level Test Design

Write to {output_folder}/test-design-system.md containing:

# System-Level Test Design

## Testability Assessment

- Controllability: [PASS/CONCERNS/FAIL with details]
- Observability: [PASS/CONCERNS/FAIL with details]
- Reliability: [PASS/CONCERNS/FAIL with details]

## Architecturally Significant Requirements (ASRs)

[Risk-scored quality requirements]

## Test Levels Strategy

- Unit: [X%] - [Rationale]
- Integration: [Y%] - [Rationale]
- E2E: [Z%] - [Rationale]

## NFR Testing Approach

- Security: [Approach with tools]
- Performance: [Approach with tools]
- Reliability: [Approach with tools]
- Maintainability: [Approach with tools]

## Test Environment Requirements

[Infrastructure needs based on deployment architecture]

## Testability Concerns (if any)

[Blockers or concerns that should inform solutioning gate check]

## Recommendations for Sprint 0

[Specific actions for *framework and *ci workflows]

After System-Level Mode: Skip to Step 4 (Generate Deliverables) - Steps 2-3 are epic-level only.

Step 1.6: Exploratory Mode Selection (Epic-Level Only)

Actions

Detect Planning Mode

Determine mode based on context:

Requirements-Based Mode (DEFAULT):
- Have clear story/PRD with acceptance criteria
- Uses: Existing workflow (Steps 2-4)
- Appropriate for: Documented features, greenfield projects
Exploratory Mode (OPTIONAL - Brownfield):
- Missing/incomplete requirements AND brownfield application exists
- Uses: UI exploration to discover functionality
- Appropriate for: Undocumented brownfield apps, legacy systems
Requirements-Based Mode (DEFAULT - Skip to Step 2)

If requirements are clear:
- Continue with existing workflow (Step 2: Assess and Classify Risks)
- Use loaded requirements from Step 1
- Proceed with risk assessment based on documented requirements
Exploratory Mode (OPTIONAL - Brownfield Apps)

If exploring brownfield application:

A. Check MCP Availability

If config.tea_use_mcp_enhancements is true AND Playwright MCP tools available:
- Use MCP-assisted exploration (Step 3.B)
If MCP unavailable OR config.tea_use_mcp_enhancements is false:
- Use manual exploration fallback (Step 3.C)
B. MCP-Assisted Exploration (If MCP Tools Available)

Use Playwright MCP browser tools to explore UI:

Setup:
```
1. Use planner_setup_page to initialize browser
2. Navigate to {exploration_url}
3. Capture initial state with browser_snapshot
```
Exploration Process:
```
4. Use browser_navigate to explore different pages
5. Use browser_click to interact with buttons, links, forms
6. Use browser_hover to reveal hidden menus/tooltips
7. Capture browser_snapshot at each significant state
8. Take browser_screenshot for documentation
9. Monitor browser_console_messages for JavaScript errors
10. Track browser_network_requests to identify API calls
11. Map user flows and interactive elements
12. Document discovered functionality
```
Discovery Documentation:
- Create list of discovered features (pages, workflows, forms)
- Identify user journeys (navigation paths)
- Map API endpoints (from network requests)
- Note error states (from console messages)
- Capture screenshots for visual reference
Convert to Test Scenarios:
- Transform discoveries into testable requirements
- Prioritize based on user flow criticality
- Identify risks from discovered functionality
- Continue with Step 2 (Assess and Classify Risks) using discovered requirements
C. Manual Exploration Fallback (If MCP Unavailable)

If Playwright MCP is not available:

Notify User:
```
Exploratory mode enabled but Playwright MCP unavailable.

**Manual exploration required:**

1. Open application at: {exploration_url}
2. Explore all pages, workflows, and features
3. Document findings in markdown:
   - List of pages/features discovered
   - User journeys identified
   - API endpoints observed (DevTools Network tab)
   - JavaScript errors noted (DevTools Console)
   - Critical workflows mapped

4. Provide exploration findings to continue workflow

**Alternative:** Disable exploratory_mode and provide requirements documentation
```
Wait for user to provide exploration findings, then:
- Parse user-provided discovery documentation
- Convert to testable requirements
- Continue with Step 2 (risk assessment)
Proceed to Risk Assessment

After mode selection (Requirements-Based OR Exploratory):
- Continue to Step 2: Assess and Classify Risks
- Use requirements from documentation (Requirements-Based) OR discoveries (Exploratory)

Step 2: Assess and Classify Risks

Actions

Identify Genuine Risks

Filter requirements to isolate actual risks (not just features):
- Unresolved technical gaps
- Security vulnerabilities
- Performance bottlenecks
- Data loss or corruption potential
- Business impact failures
- Operational deployment issues
Classify Risks by Category

Use these standard risk categories:

TECH (Technical/Architecture):
- Architecture flaws
- Integration failures
- Scalability issues
- Technical debt
SEC (Security):
- Missing access controls
- Authentication bypass
- Data exposure
- Injection vulnerabilities
PERF (Performance):
- SLA violations
- Response time degradation
- Resource exhaustion
- Scalability limits
DATA (Data Integrity):
- Data loss
- Data corruption
- Inconsistent state
- Migration failures
BUS (Business Impact):
- User experience degradation
- Business logic errors
- Revenue impact
- Compliance violations
OPS (Operations):
- Deployment failures
- Configuration errors
- Monitoring gaps
- Rollback issues
Score Risk Probability

Rate likelihood (1-3):
- 1 (Unlikely): <10% chance, edge case
- 2 (Possible): 10-50% chance, known scenario
- 3 (Likely): >50% chance, common occurrence
Score Risk Impact

Rate severity (1-3):
- 1 (Minor): Cosmetic, workaround exists, limited users
- 2 (Degraded): Feature impaired, workaround difficult, affects many users
- 3 (Critical): System failure, data loss, no workaround, blocks usage

Calculate Risk Score

Risk Score = Probability × Impact

Scores:
1-2: Low risk (monitor)
3-4: Medium risk (plan mitigation)
6-9: High risk (immediate mitigation required)

Highlight High-Priority Risks

Flag all risks with score ≥6 for immediate attention.
Request Clarification

If evidence is missing or assumptions required:
- Document assumptions clearly
- Request user clarification
- Do NOT speculate on business impact
Plan Mitigations

For each high-priority risk:
- Define mitigation strategy
- Assign owner (dev, QA, ops)
- Set timeline
- Update residual risk expectation

Step 3: Design Test Coverage

Actions

Break Down Acceptance Criteria

Convert each acceptance criterion into atomic test scenarios:
- One scenario per testable behavior
- Scenarios are independent
- Scenarios are repeatable
- Scenarios tie back to risk mitigations
Select Appropriate Test Levels

Knowledge Base Reference: test-levels-framework.md

Map requirements to optimal test levels (avoid duplication):

E2E (End-to-End):
- Critical user journeys
- Multi-system integration
- Production-like environment
- Highest confidence, slowest execution
API (Integration):
- Service contracts
- Business logic validation
- Fast feedback
- Good for complex scenarios
Component:
- UI component behavior
- Interaction testing
- Visual regression
- Fast, isolated
Unit:
- Business logic
- Edge cases
- Error handling
- Fastest, most granular
Avoid duplicate coverage: Don't test same behavior at multiple levels unless necessary.
Assign Priority Levels

Knowledge Base Reference: test-priorities-matrix.md

P0 (Critical):
- Blocks core user journey
- High-risk areas (score ≥6)
- Revenue-impacting
- Security-critical
- Run on every commit
P1 (High):
- Important user features
- Medium-risk areas (score 3-4)
- Common workflows
- Run on PR to main
P2 (Medium):
- Secondary features
- Low-risk areas (score 1-2)
- Edge cases
- Run nightly or weekly
P3 (Low):
- Nice-to-have
- Exploratory
- Performance benchmarks
- Run on-demand
Outline Data and Tooling Prerequisites

For each test scenario, identify:
- Test data requirements (factories, fixtures)
- External services (mocks, stubs)
- Environment setup
- Tools and dependencies
Define Execution Order

Recommend test execution sequence:
1. Smoke tests (P0 subset, <5 min)
2. P0 tests (critical paths, <10 min)
3. P1 tests (important features, <30 min)
4. P2/P3 tests (full regression, <60 min)

Step 4: Generate Deliverables

Actions

Create Risk Assessment Matrix

Use template structure:

| Risk ID | Category | Description | Probability | Impact | Score | Mitigation      |
| ------- | -------- | ----------- | ----------- | ------ | ----- | --------------- |
| R-001   | SEC      | Auth bypass | 2           | 3      | 6     | Add authz check |

Create Coverage Matrix

| Requirement | Test Level | Priority | Risk Link | Test Count | Owner |
| ----------- | ---------- | -------- | --------- | ---------- | ----- |
| Login flow  | E2E        | P0       | R-001     | 3          | QA    |

Document Execution Order

### Smoke Tests (<5 min)

- Login successful
- Dashboard loads

### P0 Tests (<10 min)

- [Full P0 list]

### P1 Tests (<30 min)

- [Full P1 list]

Include Resource Estimates

### Test Effort Estimates

- P0 scenarios: 15 tests × 2 hours = 30 hours
- P1 scenarios: 25 tests × 1 hour = 25 hours
- P2 scenarios: 40 tests × 0.5 hour = 20 hours
- **Total:** 75 hours (~10 days)

Add Gate Criteria

### Quality Gate Criteria

- All P0 tests pass (100%)
- P1 tests pass rate ≥95%
- No high-risk (score ≥6) items unmitigated
- Test coverage ≥80% for critical paths

Write to Output File

Save to {output_folder}/test-design-epic-{epic_num}.md using template structure.

Important Notes

Risk Category Definitions

TECH (Technical/Architecture):

Architecture flaws or technical debt
Integration complexity
Scalability concerns

SEC (Security):

Missing security controls
Authentication/authorization gaps
Data exposure risks

PERF (Performance):

SLA risk or performance degradation
Resource constraints
Scalability bottlenecks

DATA (Data Integrity):

Data loss or corruption potential
State consistency issues
Migration risks

BUS (Business Impact):

User experience harm
Business logic errors
Revenue or compliance impact

OPS (Operations):

Deployment or runtime failures
Configuration issues
Monitoring/observability gaps

Risk Scoring Methodology

Probability × Impact = Risk Score

Examples:

High likelihood (3) × Critical impact (3) = Score 9 (highest priority)
Possible (2) × Critical (3) = Score 6 (high priority threshold)
Unlikely (1) × Minor (1) = Score 1 (low priority)

Threshold: Scores ≥6 require immediate mitigation.

Test Level Selection Strategy

Avoid duplication:

Don't test same behavior at E2E and API level
Use E2E for critical paths only
Use API tests for complex business logic
Use unit tests for edge cases

Tradeoffs:

E2E: High confidence, slow execution, brittle
API: Good balance, fast, stable
Unit: Fastest feedback, narrow scope

Priority Assignment Guidelines

P0 criteria (all must be true):

Blocks core functionality
High-risk (score ≥6)
No workaround exists
Affects majority of users

P1 criteria:

Important feature
Medium risk (score 3-5)
Workaround exists but difficult

P2/P3: Everything else, prioritized by value

Knowledge Base Integration

Core Fragments (Auto-loaded in Step 1):

risk-governance.md - Risk classification (6 categories), automated scoring, gate decision engine, coverage traceability, owner tracking (625 lines, 4 examples)
probability-impact.md - Probability × impact matrix, automated classification thresholds, dynamic re-assessment, gate integration (604 lines, 4 examples)
test-levels-framework.md - E2E vs API vs Component vs Unit decision framework with characteristics matrix (467 lines, 4 examples)
test-priorities-matrix.md - P0-P3 automated priority calculation, risk-based mapping, tagging strategy, time budgets (389 lines, 2 examples)

Reference for Test Planning:

selective-testing.md - Execution strategy: tag-based, spec filters, diff-based selection, promotion rules (727 lines, 4 examples)
fixture-architecture.md - Data setup patterns: pure function → fixture → mergeTests, auto-cleanup (406 lines, 5 examples)

Manual Reference (Optional):

Use tea-index.csv to find additional specialized fragments as needed

Evidence-Based Assessment

Critical principle: Base risk assessment on evidence, not speculation.

Evidence sources:

PRD and user research
Architecture documentation
Historical bug data
User feedback
Security audit results

Avoid:

Guessing business impact
Assuming user behavior
Inventing requirements

When uncertain: Document assumptions and request clarification from user.

Output Summary

After completing this workflow, provide a summary:

## Test Design Complete

**Epic**: {epic_num}
**Scope**: {design_level}

**Risk Assessment**:

- Total risks identified: {count}
- High-priority risks (≥6): {high_count}
- Categories: {categories}

**Coverage Plan**:

- P0 scenarios: {p0_count} ({p0_hours} hours)
- P1 scenarios: {p1_count} ({p1_hours} hours)
- P2/P3 scenarios: {p2p3_count} ({p2p3_hours} hours)
- **Total effort**: {total_hours} hours (~{total_days} days)

**Test Levels**:

- E2E: {e2e_count}
- API: {api_count}
- Component: {component_count}
- Unit: {unit_count}

**Quality Gate Criteria**:

- P0 pass rate: 100%
- P1 pass rate: ≥95%
- High-risk mitigations: 100%
- Coverage: ≥80%

**Output File**: {output_file}

**Next Steps**:

1. Review risk assessment with team
2. Prioritize mitigation for high-risk items (score ≥6)
3. Run `atdd` workflow to generate failing tests for P0 scenarios
4. Allocate resources per effort estimates
5. Set up test data factories and fixtures

Validation

After completing all steps, verify:

Risk assessment complete with all categories
All risks scored (probability × impact)
High-priority risks (≥6) flagged
Coverage matrix maps requirements to test levels
Priority levels assigned (P0-P3)
Execution order defined
Resource estimates provided
Quality gate criteria defined
Output file created and formatted correctly

Refer to checklist.md for comprehensive validation criteria.

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Test Design and Risk Assessment

Overview

Preflight: Detect Mode and Load Context

Mode Detection

Step 1: Load Context (Mode-Aware)

System-Level Mode (Phase 3)

Epic-Level Mode (Phase 4)

Step 1.5: System-Level Testability Review (Phase 3 Only)

Actions

Step 1.6: Exploratory Mode Selection (Epic-Level Only)

Actions

Step 2: Assess and Classify Risks

Actions

Step 3: Design Test Coverage

Actions

Step 4: Generate Deliverables

Actions

Important Notes

Risk Category Definitions

Risk Scoring Methodology

Test Level Selection Strategy

Priority Assignment Guidelines

Knowledge Base Integration

Evidence-Based Assessment

Output Summary

Validation

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