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tdd-failure-recovery

@majiayu000/claude-skill-registry
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Guide experienced developers through TDD failure scenarios and recovery procedures when tests behave unexpectedly

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SKILL.md

name tdd-failure-recovery
description Guide experienced developers through TDD failure scenarios and recovery procedures when tests behave unexpectedly
license Complete terms in LICENSE.txt

TDD Failure Recovery

Version: {{VERSION}}

When to Use

  • RED phase test passes unexpectedly (should fail)
  • GREEN phase test still fails (should pass)
  • REFACTOR phase breaks tests (should stay green)
  • Tests behave unpredictably or inconsistently

Scenario 1: RED Phase Test Passes Unexpectedly

Possible causes:

  1. Feature already exists
  2. Test is too permissive
  3. Test setup incorrect

Recovery:

  1. Add intentional failure to verify test can fail
  2. Check for existing implementation
  3. Review test logic
  4. Revise test and verify it fails
  5. Resume TDD cycle

Scenario 2: GREEN Phase Test Still Fails

Possible causes:

  1. Implementation incomplete
  2. Implementation has bugs
  3. Test expectations misunderstood

Recovery:

  1. Read failure message carefully
  2. Verify implementation code
  3. Check test requirements
  4. Revise implementation
  5. Run full test suite
  6. Resume TDD cycle

Scenario 3: REFACTOR Phase Breaks Tests

Possible causes:

  1. Behavioral change introduced
  2. Breaking change in API
  3. Incomplete refactoring
  4. Test dependency on implementation

Recovery:

  1. IMMEDIATE ROLLBACK
  2. Analyze what broke
  3. Decide: Skip, smaller refactoring, or fix test

Critical principle:

TESTS MUST STAY GREEN
If refactoring breaks tests -> ROLLBACK
Do not proceed with broken tests

Scenario 4: Rollback Procedure

  1. Identify changes to undo
  2. Restore previous code version
  3. Verify file state matches pre-change
  4. Run full test suite
  5. Verify all tests GREEN

Scenario 5: Inconsistent Test Results

Possible causes:

  1. Test order dependency
  2. Timing issues
  3. External dependencies
  4. Random data in tests

Recovery:

  1. Run failing test alone
  2. Check test isolation
  3. Fix with proper setup/teardown
  4. Verify consistency

Diagnostic Flowchart

Test failed unexpectedly -> What phase?

RED: Should fail but passes -> Test invalid, revise test
GREEN: Should pass but fails -> Implementation incomplete, revise impl
REFACTOR: Should stay green but fails -> ROLLBACK immediately

Prevention Strategies

  1. Verify Each Phase - Never assume, always run tests
  2. Clear Communication - Report exact results
  3. Maintain Green State - Tests green except during RED phase

Common Recovery Patterns

Pattern Situation Action
Reset Confused state Rollback to last green
Minimal Fix Small issue Targeted correction
Skip Risk > reward Defer to later
Divide and Conquer Large change broke Break into smaller changes

Resources

  • resources/failure-diagnostic-flowchart.md
  • resources/recovery-procedures.md
  • resources/test-isolation-guide.md

End of TDD Failure Recovery Skill