holistic-testing-pact

When to Use

• Designing comprehensive test strategies
• Building quality culture in teams
• Choosing testing approach for new projects
• Evolving from sequential QA to concurrent quality

PACT Principles

| Principle | Focus | Anti-Pattern |

|-----------|-------|--------------|

| Proactive | Test before code, design testability | Waiting for bugs to find you |

| Autonomous | Teams deploy when ready | QA as manual gatekeepers |

| Collaborative | Whole-team quality thinking | QA works in isolation |

| Targeted | Risk-based, high-value tests | Exhaustive checkbox testing |

Holistic Testing Quadrants

| Quadrant | Purpose | Examples |

|----------|---------|----------|

| Tech + Support | Fast feedback | Unit, component, integration tests |

| Tech + Critique | Find limits | Performance, security, chaos |

| Business + Support | Shared understanding | BDD, acceptance tests |

| Business + Critique | Discover unknowns | Exploratory, usability, A/B |

Agent Selection by PACT + Quadrant

| PACT Dimension | Agents |

|----------------|--------|

| Proactive + Tech | qe-test-generator, qe-requirements-validator |

| Autonomous + Tech | qe-test-executor, qe-coverage-analyzer |

| Collaborative | qe-fleet-commander (orchestration) |

| Targeted | qe-regression-risk-analyzer, qe-quality-gate |

---

Proactive: Test Before Bugs

```javascript

// During API design, ask: "How will we know if this times out under load?"

// Build observability from start

await Task("Risk Analysis", {

phase: 'refinement',

question: 'What could go wrong and how will we know?'

}, "qe-requirements-validator");

```

Autonomous: Teams Own Quality

• Developers run full test suite locally
• CI fails fast with clear diagnostics
• No manual deployment approvals
• Self-service test environments

Collaborative: Whole-Team Thinking

• QE attends planning and refinement
• Three Amigos for every user story
• Shared ownership of test code
• Ensemble testing for complex scenarios

Targeted: Test What Matters

```javascript

// E-commerce checkout? Test thoroughly.

// Admin panel used twice a month? Lighter touch.

await Task("Risk-Based Planning", {

critical: ['checkout', 'payment'],

light: ['admin-panel', 'settings']

}, "qe-regression-risk-analyzer");

```

---

| Old Way (Sequential) | Holistic + PACT (Concurrent) |

|---------------------|------------------------------|

| Dev writes → QA tests → bugs found → fixes | Team discusses what to build and how to test |

| Slow feedback, finger-pointing | Fast feedback, shared ownership |

| Quality as gatekeeping | Quality as enabler |

| QA on critical path | QA builds infrastructure, coaches |

---

• Features deploy multiple times per day
• Bug escape rate trending down
• Team discusses quality naturally
• Developers write tests without being told
• Releases are boring (in a good way)

---

Memory Namespace

```

aqe/holistic-testing/

├── pact-assessment/* - PACT maturity analysis

├── quadrant-coverage/* - Coverage per quadrant

├── team-metrics/* - Quality ownership metrics

└── feedback-loops/* - Cycle time data

```

Fleet Coordination

```typescript

const holisticFleet = await FleetManager.coordinate({

strategy: 'holistic-testing',

pact: { proactive: true, autonomous: true, collaborative: true, targeted: true },

agents: [

'qe-fleet-commander', // Orchestration

'qe-test-generator', // Tech quadrant

'qe-requirements-validator', // Business quadrant

'qe-quality-analyzer' // Metrics

],

topology: 'mesh'

});

```

---

• [agentic-quality-engineering](../agentic-quality-engineering/) - Agent coordination
• [context-driven-testing](../context-driven-testing/) - Adapt to context
• [shift-left-testing](../shift-left-testing/) - Proactive testing
• [risk-based-testing](../risk-based-testing/) - Targeted testing

---

PACT = Proactive + Autonomous + Collaborative + Targeted

Quality is built in, not tested in. Teams own quality. QA enables, doesn't gate. Test what matters, skip what doesn't. Measure outcomes, not activities.

With Agents: Agents analyze PACT maturity, recommend quadrant coverage, and coordinate whole-team quality. Use agents to scale holistic thinking while maintaining human judgment.