alchemiststudiosdotai QA From Execute
Evaluate code changes for correctness, risks, and quality. This skill performs read-only analysis of implemented work, producing a QA report without modifying code.
CRITICAL BOUNDARIES
| Activity | Status |
|---|---|
| QA Analysis | ✅ This skill |
| Code Changes | ❌ NO — Read only |
| Bug Fixes | ❌ NO — Report only |
| Execute | ❌ NO — Analysis only |
This skill is STRICTLY for QA evaluation. Do not write code, do not fix issues, and do not perform the Execute phase. Analyze, evaluate, and report.
When to Use
Use this skill when:
- The Execute phase is complete
- Code has been written and needs quality evaluation
- The task is to assess correctness of changes, not modify them
- Pre-merge or post-implementation review is needed
Workflow
Step 1: Load Execute Context
Locate and read the execution log:
- If a path is provided: Read from
memory-bank/execute/<path> - If a topic is provided: Find the latest matching file in
memory-bank/execute/
Extract:
- Which files were modified
- Which functions/endpoints were added or changed
- What the acceptance criteria were
- Any issues encountered during the Execute phase
Step 2: Identify Changed Areas
From the execution log, build a list of:
- Files modified: Paths to all changed files
- Functions changed: Public functions that were added or modified
- Interfaces changed: API endpoints, CLI commands, public methods
- State changes: Database schema, configuration, shared resources
Focus analysis ONLY on these changed areas. Do not review unchanged code.
Step 3: Apply QA Checklist Per Changed Area
For each changed file/function/endpoint, evaluate:
3.1 Inputs & Preconditions
| Check | Question |
|---|---|
| Validation | Are all inputs validated before use? |
| Type safety | Are type assumptions explicit and checked? |
| Null/empty | Are null, undefined, and empty cases handled? |
| Boundaries | Are min/max values, sizes, and limits enforced? |
3.2 Control Flow
| Check | Question |
|---|---|
| Branch coverage | Are all branches reachable? Any dead code? |
| Fall-through | Are switch/case fall-throughs intentional? |
| Early returns | Are guard clauses used appropriately? |
| Loop termination | Do all loops have guaranteed termination? |
3.3 Data Flow
| Check | Question |
|---|---|
| Invariants | Are invariants preserved through transformations? |
| Mutation scope | Is mutation limited to appropriate scope? |
| Shared state | Is shared state access properly synchronized? |
| Aliasing | Are aliasing risks (multiple refs to same data) handled? |
3.4 State & Transactions
| Check | Question |
|---|---|
| Idempotency | Is the operation safe to retry? |
| Atomicity | Are multi-step operations atomic? |
| Rollback | Is there a path to undo partial changes? |
| Concurrency | Are race conditions handled? |
3.5 Error Handling
| Check | Question |
|---|---|
| Specificity | Are exceptions specific (not broad catches)? |
| Retry logic | Is transient failure handled with backoff? |
| Dead letter | Are unprocessable items routed to DLQ/log? |
| Error context | Do errors include sufficient debugging info? |
3.6 Contracts
| Check | Question |
|---|---|
| Pre-conditions | Are pre-conditions documented and enforced? |
| Post-conditions | Are post-conditions guaranteed on success? |
| Schema drift | Do request/response schemas match implementation? |
| Versioning | Are breaking changes properly versioned? |
3.7 Time & Locale
| Check | Question |
|---|---|
| Timezones | Are datetime operations timezone-aware? |
| Monotonic time | Is elapsed time measured with monotonic clocks? |
| DST | Are daylight saving time transitions handled? |
| Format stability | Are date/time formats consistent and unambiguous? |
3.8 Resource Hygiene
| Check | Question |
|---|---|
| File lifecycle | Are files opened/closed properly (with statements)? |
| Connection pooling | Are connections returned to pools? |
| Timeouts | Do all blocking operations have timeouts? |
| Cancellation | Is cancellation propagated through async chains? |
3.9 Edge Cases
| Check | Question |
|---|---|
| Empty inputs | Is empty/null input handled gracefully? |
| Max sizes | Are large inputs bounded (pagination, limits)? |
| Partial failure | Is partial failure detectable and recoverable? |
| Resource exhaustion | Are OOM, disk full, quota exceeded handled? |
3.10 Public Surface
| Check | Question |
|---|---|
| Backward compat | Are breaking changes intentional and documented? |
| OpenAPI alignment | Do implementations match OpenAPI/JSON schemas? |
| Type exports | Are public types exported and documented? |
| Deprecation | Are deprecated items marked and alternatives provided? |
Step 4: Test & Contracts Analysis
For each changed public function/endpoint:
Map to test coverage
- Run:
pytest -qor equivalent - Run:
coverage run -m pytest && coverage report --format=markdown - Identify which changed functions have tests
- Run:
Identify missing test cases
- Error branches: Are failure paths tested?
- Boundary conditions: Are min/max values tested?
- Property invariants: Are data guarantees verified?
- Mutation tests: Would incorrect code fail tests?
Contract/API verification
- Compare OpenAPI/JSON schema to implementation
- Verify request/response DTOs match spec
- Check for breaking field/enum changes
Step 5: Secondary Scans (Optional)
Run static analysis tools (read-only, report results):
# Type checking
mypy . --ignore-missing-imports 2>/dev/null || echo "mypy not available"
# Security scan
bandit -r . -q 2>/dev/null || echo "bandit not available"
# Dependency audit
pip-audit 2>/dev/null || npm audit --json 2>/dev/null | jq '.metadata' || echo "audit not available"
Note findings without attempting fixes.
Step 6: Write QA Report
Create memory-bank/qa/YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS_<topic>_qa.md:
---
title: "<topic> – QA Report"
phase: QA
date: "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS"
owner: "<agent_or_user>"
parent_execute: "memory-bank/execute/<file>.md"
git_commit_at_qa: "<sha>"
tags: [qa, <topic>]
---
## Summary
| Metric | Count |
|--------|-------|
| Files reviewed | N |
| Functions reviewed | N |
| CRITICAL findings | N |
| WARNING findings | N |
| INFO findings | N |
| PASS (no issues) | N |
## Changed Areas Reviewed
### File: `path/to/file.py`
| Function/Class | Lines | Status |
|----------------|-------|--------|
| `function_name()` | L45-89 | ⚠️ WARNING |
| `ClassName` | L120-200 | ✅ PASS |
#### Findings for `function_name()`
| Severity | Category | Finding | Recommendation |
|----------|----------|---------|----------------|
| WARNING | Error Handling | Broad `except Exception` catch | Catch specific exceptions |
| INFO | Data Flow | Mutation of input parameter | Document or avoid |
### File: `path/to/another.js`
...
## Test Coverage Analysis
| Function | Has Tests | Coverage % | Missing Cases |
|----------|-----------|------------|---------------|
| `function_name()` | ✅ | 85% | Error branch, empty input |
| `another_function()` | ❌ | 0% | All cases |
## Contract/API Verification
| Endpoint | Schema Match | Breaking Changes |
|----------|--------------|------------------|
| `POST /api/items` | ✅ | None |
| `GET /api/items/:id` | ⚠️ | New required field |
## Static Analysis Summary
| Tool | Result |
|------|--------|
| mypy | N errors, M warnings |
| bandit | N low, M medium issues |
| pip-audit | N vulnerabilities |
## Risk Assessment
| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation Status |
|------|------------|--------|-------------------|
| Race condition in shared state | Medium | High | Not mitigated |
| Missing error branch coverage | High | Medium | Not tested |
## Recommendations Summary
### Must Fix (CRITICAL)
1. [Description of critical issue]
### Should Fix (WARNING)
1. [Description of warning]
### Observations (INFO)
1. [Description of observation]
Finding Severity Levels
| Level | Definition | Action Required |
|---|---|---|
| CRITICAL | Security risk, data loss, or system instability | Must fix before merge |
| WARNING | Potential bugs, maintainability issues, missing coverage | Should fix, can defer |
| INFO | Style observations, suggestions, notes | Optional |
| PASS | No issues found | None |
Constraints
| Constraint | Rule |
|---|---|
| NO CODE CHANGES | Never write, modify, or delete code |
| NO FIXES | Report issues, do not implement solutions |
| FOCUS ON CHANGES | Only review files listed in the execution log |
| READ-ONLY TOOLS | Use tools that don't modify state |
| DOCUMENT FINDINGS | Every issue must be in the QA report |
Subagent Usage
If additional analysis is needed:
With subagents available: Deploy maximum 3:
| Subagent | When to Deploy |
|---|---|
| antipattern-sniffer | Review changed code for anti-patterns and code smells |
| codebase-analyzer | Deep analysis of specific function implementations |
| context-synthesis | Identify hidden dependencies affected by changes |
Without subagents: Perform manual analysis following the checklist.
Handoff
After writing the QA report to memory-bank/qa/, hand off to the user for disposition.
Suggested next action:
Review memory-bank/qa/<file>.md and decide whether to accept the work or create follow-up planning.