Selective Build Test

Selective Build & Test Planning

Intent

Plan and execute only the necessary builds and tests for impacted components, based on an explicit impact assessment, while maintaining full quality and correctness standards. This includes using monorepo-aware tooling to ensure only affected code is re-verified, keeping feedback loops fast.

When to Use

• Before local build/test runs in a monorepo.
• When configuring or reviewing CI behaviour for incremental execution.
• When optimising feedback loops without weakening standards.
• Always in multi-component projects to avoid redundant work.

Precondition Failure Signal

• Full repo builds/tests run for small changes.
• Monorepo tooling (e.g., Nx, Turborepo) is present but not used or configured incorrectly.
• Incremental runs miss required tests for impacted components.
• Developers bypass checks because “it takes too long.”
• CI outputs cannot explain why a component did/did not run.

Postcondition Success Signal

• Build/test matrix includes all and only impacted components.
• Tooling correctly identifies "affected" projects based on git graph.
• Required transitive tests are included where dependencies demand it.
• Quality gates remain unchanged; only the scope is reduced.
• Execution is reproducible and reviewable from the same inputs.

Process

1. Source Review: Inspect the impact set produced by incremental-change-impact and determine the appropriate testing tier (UnitTest, SystemTest, ComponentE2E, E2E, ArchitectureTest) based on the current execution stage (Dev, Pre-commit, Pre-push, CI/CD).
2. Discovery & Implementation:
   • Identify the correct monorepo tool (e.g., Nx, Turborepo) for the project stack.
   • Configure the tool (e.g., nx affected, turbo run --filter=[head]) to only target the identified components and tiers.
3. Verification: Execute the build/test and verify that only the intended components and tiers were processed and that they passed.
4. Documentation: Document the selective execution plan, including which tiers were run and why.
5. Review: Platform/DevOps Engineer and Tech Lead review the selective execution results for correctness, coverage, and alignment with the test execution matrix.

Example Test / Validation

• Change a single component and verify only that component’s build/tests run
• Introduce a dependency change and verify dependent components are included
• Confirm quality gates are identical to full runs for impacted components

Common Red Flags / Guardrail Violations

• Skipping pre-commit hooks or checks “to save time”
• Reducing scope by suppressing tests rather than proving non-impact
• Disabling warnings-as-errors or lint rules to speed up builds
• Incremental logic that is not reproducible or explainable

Recommended Review Personas

• Platform/DevOps Engineer – validates correctness of incremental execution
• Tech Lead – validates standards are not weakened and scope is justified
• Domain Expert – validates dependency assumptions

Skill Priority

P3 – Delivery & Flow
(Must never override P0–P2 constraints.)

Conflict Resolution Rules

• Must consume the output of incremental-change-impact
• Cannot weaken quality gates; only reduces scope
• If uncertainty exists, broaden scope rather than suppress checks (with justification)

Conceptual Dependencies

• incremental-change-impact
• quality-gate-enforcement

Classification

Operational

Notes

Optimise feedback loops, not standards. Faster is acceptable only when correct. Refer to the repository's "Test Execution Matrix" for stage-specific tier requirements.