cige-test-authoring

CIGE: Agentic Test Case Authoring

Use this skill when writing, reviewing, or refactoring AI agent test cases. It enforces the CIGE standard — a structured format that separates stable test intent from adaptive execution, enabling self-healing agentic tests.

When to invoke

• Authoring a new agentic test case from scratch
• Reviewing an existing test for brittleness or missing structure
• Designing test guardrails for a new agent workflow

For a completed run — pass or fail — do not decide repairs here. Invoke cige-failure-classification first; it classifies the outcome and names which skill (if any) should act.

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The CIGE Format

Every agentic test case must be expressed in this structure:

{
  "Context": {
    "system": "<app or service under test, version if relevant>",
    "environment": "<staging | dev | ephemeral | ...>",
    "tools": ["<tool 1>", "<tool 2>"],
    "preconditions": ["<seed data>", "<auth state>", "<feature flags>"],
    "specRef": "<path or URL to the BRD / product spec that defines expected behavior>",
    "buildRef": "<pointer to the build/version under test and its release documentation — changelog, release notes, or build manifest>"
  },
  "Intent": "<single outcome-based objective — what success looks like>",
  "Guardrails": [
    "<constraint the agent must never violate>",
    "<scope boundary or irreversibility limit>"
  ],
  "Execution": [
    "<adaptive step 1 — guidance, not script>",
    "<adaptive step 2>",
    "<verification: confirm intent was achieved>"
  ]
}

specRef is required. It is the ground truth that self-healing agents use to distinguish a product defect from an intentional product change. Without it, failure classification cannot be completed.

buildRef is required for the same reason: specRef alone can tell you what the product should do, but not whether the build under test actually contains that behavior yet. Without buildRef, a product-defect classification can't safely conclude "intentional change" — see cige-product-defect-escalation.