Create Test Plan

Create Test Plan

Generates a structured test plan that a local Claude Code agent will use to walk the user through interactive testing. The local agent has MCP access to the project's stateful surfaces (databases, caches, queue/event buses, observability dashboards) - it actively sets up state, triggers actions, and verifies outcomes while the user handles UI interactions.

This skill runs on the server agent (where implementation happened). The output is left in the working tree for review - the user commits and pushes when ready using /commit.

Instructions

Step 1: Gather Context

1. Get the current branch: git branch --show-current
2. Read the implementation plan at plans/{branch-name}/plan.md and all sub-plans
3. Read the full diff: git diff main...HEAD --stat and git diff main...HEAD --name-only
4. Identify what changed:
   • Which features were added or modified?
   • Which integrations are involved?
   • Are there money-handling or other safety-critical flows?
   • Are there UI changes?
   • Are there background jobs, queue consumers, or message handlers?
   • Are there database schema changes?
5. If the project maintains domain-specific test-plan runbooks (e.g. for integration-heavy flows), read them before drafting the plan.

Step 2: Determine Test Environment

Based on the changes, determine which MCP tools the local agent will need:

Flag if staging access is needed (real upstream calls, real payments, etc.).

Step 3: Design Scenarios

For each feature area in the diff, create test scenarios covering:

1. Happy path - the normal flow works end to end
2. Edge cases - boundary conditions identified in the plan's Risks & Edge Cases
3. Idempotency - replay the same action and verify no duplicate side effects
4. Error handling - invalid input, provider errors, timeout behavior
5. Concurrency (if applicable) - simultaneous operations on the same entity
6. Empty/null states (for UI) - what renders when there's no data

Each scenario must have:

• Setup: concrete MCP operations to create the test state (SQL inserts, Redis keys, SQS messages, SSM config)
• Action: what happens - either user action (navigate, click, submit) or agent-triggered (curl, SQS publish)
• Verify: concrete MCP operations to check outcomes (SQL queries, cache reads, event-store queries, observability log/trace checks)

For integration-heavy work, group scenarios into execution buckets when relevant:

• Local-core - executable with the local app and local infrastructure only
• Integration-backed - requires valid third-party credentials and reachable upstream endpoints
• Optional live - valuable but non-blocking, usually requiring public callback routing or full live traffic

Also add a short Scenario Coverage Map so the local agent can quickly see which scenario ranges cover which runtime risks.

For idempotency-sensitive flows, also design verification so a replay proves both:

• no duplicate persisted rows
• no duplicate emitted events / outbound calls for the replayed operation

Step 4: Write the Test Plan

Create plans/{branch-name}/test-plan.md with this structure:

# Test Plan: {Feature Title}

Branch: `{branch-name}`
Implementation Plan: `plans/{branch-name}/plan.md`
Created: {date}

## Use This File

State whether this is the single-entry current-branch runbook, whether any historical source exists, and where the agent should write `test-results.md`.

## Current Scope

State what is in scope, what is intentionally out of scope, and any ownership boundaries between third-party-owned behavior and in-house platform behavior.

## Execution Order

Tell the local agent what to run first. Prefer local-core coverage before provider-dependent coverage.

## Prerequisites

What must be running before testing:

- [ ] Application running locally (use the project's standard run command)
- [ ] Public tunnel active - only if testing third-party callbacks
- [ ] Staging credentials/config loaded - only if testing real upstream integration
- [ ] {any feature-specific prerequisites}

## Local Test-State Policy

State the intended setup path for stateful prerequisites:

- normal product flow
- CLI command
- queue/message trigger
- direct local DB seed

If direct local DB seeds are required, say so explicitly, including tagging and cleanup boundaries.

## MCP Tools Used

| Tool | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| `{db-mcp}` | {what it's used for in these tests} |
| `{cache-mcp}` | {what it's used for} |
| `{messaging-mcp}` | {what it's used for} |
| `{observability-mcp}` | {what it's used for} |

## Runtime Variables

List the values the agent resolves once and reuses: base URLs, user/account IDs, provider IDs, credentials source, game/campaign identifiers, etc.

## Helper Snippets

Include only the snippets the agent needs, such as HMAC helpers, discovery SQL, webhook examples, queue payloads, or shell commands.

## Evidence Surfaces

State where runtime truth lives for this branch:

- database rows
- event streams
- request/response audit

For financial callbacks, require the runner to verify payload contents, not just that rows or pairs exist.

## Scenario Coverage Map

| Area | Scenarios |
|------|-----------|
| {coverage area} | `{scenario range}` |

## Scenarios

### 1. {Scenario Title}

**What we're testing:** {plain-language explanation of what this verifies and why it matters}
**Category:** happy-path | edge-case | idempotency | error-handling | concurrency | ui-state | setup | operational

#### Setup

Steps the agent performs via MCP before the test:

```sql
-- db: seed primary entity and dependent rows
INSERT INTO {primary_table} (...) VALUES (...);
INSERT INTO {dependent_table} (...) VALUES (...);

-- cache: set required state (if needed)
SET {entity}:123:state "..."

-- cloud/secrets: configure required parameters (if needed)
aws ssm put-parameter --name "/local/..." --value "..." --type String --overwrite

Action

What triggers the behavior being tested:

User action:

Navigate to https://localhost:5001/path and {do something specific}

- or - Agent action:

curl -X POST https://localhost:5001/api/... -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{...}'

- or - Queue trigger:

-- aws-local: send message to SQS
aws sqs send-message --queue-url "..." --message-body '{...}'

Verify

What the agent checks after the action:

-- db: verify the expected database state
SELECT ... FROM ... WHERE ...;
-- Expected: {describe expected result}

-- observability: check for expected log entries
list_structured_logs with filter: {resource, level, message pattern}
-- Expected: {describe expected log}

-- observability: verify trace shows correct flow
list_traces with filter: {operation name}
-- Expected: {describe expected trace spans}

-- postgres-local: verify no duplicate records (idempotency)
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM ... WHERE ...;
-- Expected: exactly 1

Result

• Pass
• Fail - Notes: {filled during testing}
• Blocked - Reason: {filled during testing}
• Skipped - Reason: {filled during testing}
• Partial - Notes: {filled during testing}

2. {Next Scenario}

...

### Step 5: Write Scenario SQL/Commands with Real Schema

When writing setup and verification SQL:

1. **Check the actual database schema** - read the EF entity configurations and migrations to get exact table names, column names, and types
2. **Use realistic test data** - real-looking names, valid enum values, proper foreign key references
3. **Include cleanup hints** - if a scenario creates state that might interfere with later scenarios, note what to clean up
4. **Use parameterized values with placeholders** - mark values the local agent should adapt: `{entity_id}`, `{generated_uuid}`, etc.
5. **Document ownership boundaries** - if an in-house surface is adjacent to a third-party-owned flow, tell the tester what should count as an upstream failure versus an in-house follow-up

### Step 6: Leave for Review

Do NOT commit or push automatically. The test plan file is in the working tree and can be reviewed with `/review` or `/review-codex`. The user will commit when ready using `/commit`.

## Critical Rules

- **Scenarios are for human + agent walkthrough** - not automated execution. Write them as a conversation guide.
- **Be concrete** - every setup step must have actual SQL/commands, not "insert a test entity." The local agent should be able to copy-paste and adapt.
- **Include the WHY** - each scenario must explain what it's verifying and why it matters. This helps the user understand the feature.
- **Use real schema** - check entity configurations for exact table/column names. Wrong SQL wastes testing time.
- **Verify with MCP, not eyes** - wherever possible, verification should be agent-checkable (SQL query, Redis read, log search) rather than "visually confirm."
- **Order scenarios logically** - start with happy path, then edge cases, then error handling. Later scenarios can build on state from earlier ones.
- **Prefer a single-entry runbook** - if a historical runbook exists, create a current wrapper instead of forcing the local agent to read multiple old files.
- **Flag staging-only scenarios** - clearly mark scenarios that require real upstream integration (staging credentials, public tunnels, etc.).
- **Document stateful setup policy** - if local DB seeding or secret access is part of the intended setup, say so explicitly in the plan instead of leaving it implicit.
- **Don't over-test** - focus on scenarios that catch real bugs, not mechanical verification of every field. Prioritize money/safety-critical flows, idempotency, and state transitions.
- **Include log/trace verification** - for any backend flow, include a log/trace check so the user can see what happened inside the system.
- **Scenario tables must be fully executed or explicitly partial** - if a scenario contains a list/table of cases, tell the runner not to mark the scenario `Pass` unless every row ran or the missing rows are called out under `Partial`.

## Reference

- `AGENTS.md` - repository-wide constraints and project conventions
- `.agents/skills/create-plan/SKILL.md` - implementation plan format (input to this skill)
- `.agents/skills/run-test-plan/SKILL.md` - companion skill for executing the test plan locally
- `.agents/skills/load-context/SKILL.md` - context files are tracked in git; the local agent can `/load-context` for deeper feature understanding
- `.agents/skills/review-pr/SKILL.md` - branch-level code review (complementary to this runtime test plan)

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> Source: [ralphkrauss/agent-orchestrator](https://github.com/ralphkrauss/agent-orchestrator) — distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io).
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