Automated Test Planner

Automated Test Planner

Creates Story test task with comprehensive automated test coverage (E2E/​Integration/​Unit) based on Risk-Based Testing methodology and REAL manual testing results.

Purpose & Scope

• Create comprehensive test task for Story automation
• Calculate risk-based priorities (Impact × Probability)
• Generate 11-section test plan from manual test results
• Delegate to ln-301-task-creator (CREATE) or ln-302-task-replanner (REPLAN)
• NOT for: manual testing (ln-512), research (ln-511), orchestration (ln-510)

When to Use This Skill

This skill should be used when:

• Invoked by ln-510-test-planner after ln-511 research and ln-512 manual testing
• All implementation tasks in Story are Done
• Manual testing results documented in Linear comment (from ln-512)
• Research findings available in Linear comment (from ln-511)

Prerequisites:

• All implementation Tasks in Story status = Done
• ln-511-test-researcher completed (research comment exists)
• ln-512-manual-tester completed (manual test results in Linear comment)

Automation: Supports autoApprove: true (default when invoked by ln-510) to skip manual confirmation.

When NOT to Use

Do NOT use if:

• Manual testing NOT completed → Wait for ln-512
• Research NOT completed → Wait for ln-511
• Implementation tasks NOT all Done → Complete impl tasks first

Workflow

Phase 1: Discovery (Automated)

Auto-discovers Team ID from docs/​tasks/​kanban_board.md (see CLAUDE.md "Configuration Auto-Discovery").

Input: Story ID from orchestrator (ln-510)

Phase 2: Story + Tasks Analysis (NO Dialog)

Step 0: Study Project Test Files

1. Scan for test-related files:
   • tests/​README.md (commands, setup, environment)
   • Test configs (jest.config.js, vitest.config.ts, pytest.ini)
   • Existing test structure (tests/, tests/ directories)
   • Coverage config (.coveragerc, coverage.json)
2. Extract: test commands, framework, patterns, coverage thresholds
3. Ensures test planning aligns with project practices

Step 1: Load Research and Manual Test Results

1. Fetch Story from Linear (must have label "user-story")
2. Extract Story.id (UUID) - Use UUID, NOT short ID (required for Linear API)
3. Load research comment (from ln-511): "## Test Research: {Feature}"
4. Load manual test results comment (from ln-512): "## Manual Testing Results"
   • If not found → ERROR: Run ln-510-test-planner pipeline first
5. Parse sections: AC results (PASS/​FAIL), Edge Cases, Error Handling, Integration flows
6. Map to test design: PASSED AC → E2E, Edge cases → Unit, Errors → Error handling, Flows → Integration

Step 2: Analyze Story + Tasks

1. Parse Story: Goal, Test Strategy, Technical Notes
2. Fetch all child Tasks (parentId = Story.id, status = Done) from Linear
3. Analyze each Task:
   • Components implemented
   • Business logic added
   • Integration points created
   • Conditional branches (if/​else/​switch)
4. Identify what needs testing

Phase 3: Parsing Strategy for Manual Test Results

Process: Locate Linear comment with "Manual Testing Results" header → Verify Format Version 1.0 → Extract structured sections (Acceptance Criteria, Test Results by AC, Edge Cases, Error Handling, Integration Testing) using regex → Validate (at least 1 PASSED AC, AC count matches Story, completeness check) → Map parsed data to test design structure

Error Handling: Missing comment → ERROR (run ln-512 first), Missing format version → WARNING (try legacy parsing), Required section missing → ERROR (re-run ln-512), No PASSED AC → ERROR (fix implementation)

Phase 4: Risk-Based Test Planning (Automated)

MANDATORY READ: Load references/​risk_based_testing_guide.md for complete methodology.

E2E-First Approach: Prioritize by business risk (Priority = Impact x Probability), not coverage metrics.

Workflow:

Step 1: Risk Assessment

Calculate Priority for each scenario from manual testing:

Priority = Business Impact (1-5) x Probability (1-5)

Decision Criteria:

• Priority >=15 → MUST test
• Priority 9-14 → SHOULD test if not covered
• Priority <=8 → SKIP (manual testing sufficient)

Step 2: E2E Test Selection (2-5): Baseline 2 (positive + negative) ALWAYS + 0-3 additional (Priority >=15 only)

Step 3: Unit Test Selection (0-15): DEFAULT 0. Add ONLY for complex business logic (Priority >=15): financial, security, algorithms

Step 4: Integration Test Selection (0-8): DEFAULT 0. Add ONLY if E2E gaps AND Priority >=15: rollback, concurrency, external API errors

Step 5: Validation: Limits 2-28 total (realistic goal: 2-7). Auto-trim if >7 (keep 2 baseline + top 5 by Priority)

Phase 5: Test Task Generation (Automated)

Generates complete test task per test_task_template.md (11 sections):

Sections 1-7: Context, Risk Matrix, E2E/​Integration/​Unit Tests (with Priority scores + justifications), Coverage, DoD

Section 8: Existing Tests to Fix (analysis of affected tests from implementation tasks)

Section 9: Infrastructure Changes (packages, Docker, configs - based on test dependencies)

Section 10: Documentation Updates (README, CHANGELOG, tests/​README, config docs)

Section 11: Legacy Code Cleanup (deprecated patterns, backward compat, dead code)

Shows preview for review.

Phase 6: Confirmation & Delegation

Step 1: Preview generated test plan (always displayed for transparency)

Step 2: Confirmation logic:

• autoApprove: true (default from ln-510) → proceed automatically
• Manual run → prompt user to type "confirm"

Step 3: Check for existing test task

Query Linear: list_issues(parentId=Story.id, labels=["tests"])

Decision:

• Count = 0 → CREATE MODE (Step 4a)
• Count >= 1 → REPLAN MODE (Step 4b)

Step 4a: CREATE MODE (if Count = 0)

Invoke ln-301-task-creator worker with taskType: "test"

Pass to worker:

• taskType, teamId, storyData (Story.id, title, AC, Technical Notes, Context)
• researchFindings (from ln-511 comment)
• manualTestResults (from ln-512 comment)
• testPlan (e2eTests, integrationTests, unitTests, riskPriorityMatrix)
• infrastructureChanges, documentationUpdates, legacyCleanup

Worker returns: Task URL + summary

Step 4b: REPLAN MODE (if Count >= 1)

Invoke ln-302-task-replanner worker with taskType: "test"

Pass to worker:

• Same data as CREATE MODE + existingTaskIds

Worker returns: Operations summary + warnings

Step 5: Return summary to orchestrator (ln-510)

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Definition of Done

Research and Manual Results Loaded:

• Research comment "## Test Research: {Feature}" found (from ln-511)
• Manual test results "## Manual Testing Results" found (from ln-512)
• At least 1 AC marked as PASSED

Risk-Based Test Plan Generated:

• Risk Priority Matrix calculated for all scenarios
• E2E tests (2-5): Baseline 2 + additional 0-3 with Priority >=15
• Integration tests (0-8): ONLY if E2E doesn't cover AND Priority >=15
• Unit tests (0-15): ONLY complex business logic with Priority >=15
• Total tests: 2-7 realistic goal (hard limit: 2-28)
• No framework/​library testing: Each test validates OUR business logic only

Test Task Description Complete (11 sections):

• All 11 sections populated per template
• Risk Priority Matrix included
• Each test beyond baseline 2 justified

Worker Delegation Executed:

• CREATE MODE: Delegated to ln-301-task-creator
• REPLAN MODE: Delegated to ln-302-task-replanner
• Linear Issue URL returned

Output:

• CREATE MODE: Linear Issue URL + confirmation
• REPLAN MODE: Operations summary + URLs

Reference Files

• Risk-based testing methodology: shared/​references/​risk_based_testing.md
• Auto-discovery patterns: shared/​references/​auto_discovery_pattern.md

risk_based_testing_guide.md

Purpose: Risk-Based Testing methodology (detailed guide)

Location: references/​risk_based_testing_guide.md

test_task_template.md (CENTRALIZED)

Location: shared/​templates/​test_task_template.md

Usage: Workers (ln-301, ln-302) load via Template Loading logic

Best Practices

Minimum Viable Testing: Start with 2 E2E tests (positive + negative). Add more ONLY with critical justification. Realistic goal: 2-7 tests per Story.

Risk-Based Testing: Prioritize by Business Impact x Probability. E2E-first from ACTUAL manual testing results. Priority >=15 scenarios covered by tests.

Expected-Based Testing: For deterministic tests, compare actual vs expected using diff. See ln-512-manual-tester Test Design Principles.

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Version: 1.0.0 (Initial release - extracted from ln-510-test-planner) Last Updated: 2026-01-15