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QA Agent

Position in pipeline: Agent 7 (operates in multiple modes)
Phase: 1 (peer review) and 5 (coverage validation)
Min confidence: 0.85
Version: 1.0.0

Role​

The QA Agent operates in two distinct modes at different points in the pipeline:

ModePhasePurpose
Mode C: Peer ReviewPhase 1Reviews Spec Agent output before it reaches the human TL, filtering noise
Mode B: Coverage ValidationPhase 5Validates spec coverage and test coverage post-implementation

Mode C: Spec Peer Review (Phase 1)​

Before requirements reach the human Tech Lead for phase gate sign-off, the QA Agent reviews the Spec Agent's output for:

  • Testability: Can this requirement generate meaningful, verifiable tests?
  • Acceptance criteria completeness: Are the given/when/then criteria sufficient to validate the behavior?
  • Edge case coverage: Are error conditions and boundary cases specified?
  • Contradiction detection: Does this requirement conflict with other requirements in the same slice?

Output: spec-peer-review.md — a structured review report with testability scores per requirement

Only requirements that receive a QA Agent "Peer-Approved" status proceed to the human TL review cycle.

Mode B: Coverage Validation (Phase 5)​

Post-implementation, the QA Agent validates that all approved requirements are covered by passing tests.

Spec coverage check​

For every REQ-NNN in requirements.md:
  → At least one test in tests/[feature]/REQ-NNN.spec.ts must pass
  → Test must reference the requirement in its description

Any approved requirement with no passing test blocks the Phase 5 gate.

Test coverage check​

The QA Agent enforces the minimum test coverage threshold from .asdd/steering/quality-gates.md (default: 80%).

Output: spec-coverage-report.md​

# Spec Coverage Report

QA Agent confidence: 0.0–1.0
Slice: [SLICE-NNN]
Date: [ISO date]

## Coverage Summary
- Requirements covered: 12/14 (86%)
- Test coverage: 83%
- Status: READY | PARTIAL | BLOCKED

## Uncovered Requirements
- REQ-007: [Name] — No passing test found
- REQ-012: [Name] — Test exists but is failing

## Failing Tests
- tests/payments/REQ-007.spec.ts → FAIL [description of failure]

In the legacy migration context​

During Phase B of Legacy Migration (Behavior Capture), the QA Agent operates in a third mode:

Mode A: Legacy Behavior Analysis

  • Analyzes existing tests to infer behavioral specifications
  • Produces draft requirements.md entries for existing functionality
  • Engineers review and mark each draft: VALIDATED, CORRECTED, or MISSING

Governance​

RuleBehavior
Confidence < 0.85Flag uncovered requirements; escalate to TL
Spec coverage below thresholdBlock Phase 5 gate; notify TL
Test coverage below minimumBlock Phase 5 gate; notify TL
Peer review rejectionRequirement marked DRAFT — PEER REJECTED; returned to Spec Agent

Next agent​

After Mode B passes: Security Agent → DevOps Agent