sar/.claude/skills/bmad-testarch-trace/steps-c/step-01-load-context.md

name, description, nextStepFile, knowledgeIndex, outputFile

name	description	nextStepFile	knowledgeIndex	outputFile
step-01-load-context	Resolve coverage oracle, load knowledge base, and gather related artifacts	{skill-root}/steps-c/step-02-discover-tests.md	./resources/tea-index.csv	{test_artifacts}/traceability-matrix.md

Step 1: Resolve Coverage Oracle & Load Knowledge Base

STEP GOAL

Resolve the best available coverage oracle, capture confidence and provenance, and gather supporting artifacts for traceability.

MANDATORY EXECUTION RULES

• 📖 Read the entire step file before acting
• ✅ Speak in {communication_language}

---

EXECUTION PROTOCOLS:

• 🎯 Follow the MANDATORY SEQUENCE exactly
• 💾 Record outputs before proceeding
• 📖 Load the next step only when instructed

CONTEXT BOUNDARIES:

• Available context: config, source tree, loaded artifacts, and knowledge fragments
• Focus: this step's goal only
• Limits: do not execute future steps
• Dependencies: prior steps' outputs (if any)

MANDATORY SEQUENCE

CRITICAL: Follow this sequence exactly. Do not skip, reorder, or improvise.

1. Resolve Coverage Oracle

At least one of the following must be usable:

• Formal requirements (story/epic acceptance criteria, PRD, test design)
• Contract/spec artifacts (OpenAPI, GraphQL schema, protobuf, etc.)
• External pointers to a requirements source that can be resolved through installed adapters/MCPs
• Analyzable source code that supports synthetic journey/requirement inference

Tests exist OR gaps are explicitly acknowledged.

Resolve the oracle in this order:

1. Formal requirements first

   • Story/epic acceptance criteria
   • PRD / test design / tech spec
   • Inline requirements provided by the user

2. Contract/spec artifacts second

   • OpenAPI / Swagger
   • GraphQL schema or SDL
   • Other machine-readable contract definitions

3. External pointers third

   • Placeholder files that point to external trackers or docs such as Jira, Linear, Confluence, shared docs, or other systems of record
   • Follow the pointer automatically only when a compatible adapter/plugin/MCP is available in the active runtime
   • Record externalPointerStatus as one of: not_used, resolved, skipped, or unavailable

4. Synthetic oracle last

   • If no formal oracle exists and allow_synthetic_oracle is enabled, inspect {source_dir} to infer a provisional trace target
   • For UI apps, infer journeys from:
     • routes/pages/screens/layout entry points
     • navigation flows and feature entry links
     • forms, submit actions, create/update/delete paths
     • auth/session/logout/role-gated flows
     • loading, empty, validation, error, and permission-denied states
     • feature flags and major conditional branches
   • Deduplicate the inferred items into a compact, traceable list (prefer 5-12 items)
   • Assign stable IDs such as J-01, J-02, etc.
   • Assign provisional priorities using test-priorities-matrix.md
     • P0: auth, checkout/payment, destructive data changes, revenue-critical, hard blockers to core use
     • P1: primary user journeys and common CRUD paths
     • P2: secondary workflows and edge scenarios
     • P3: low-risk polish or optional flows

Record the resolved oracle metadata in step output/frontmatter using consistent keys:

• coverageBasis (acceptance_criteria | synthetic_requirements | openapi_endpoints | user_journeys) — the type of oracle selected for coverage tracing
• oracleResolutionMode (formal_requirements | spec_artifact | external_pointer | synthetic_source) — how the oracle was discovered/resolved
• oracleConfidence (high | medium | low) — confidence in the resolved oracle as a coverage source
• oracleSources — list of artifact paths, URIs, or references used to resolve the oracle
• externalPointerStatus (not_used | resolved | skipped | unavailable) — status of external pointer resolution when pointer files are present

If none of the four oracle types can be resolved, HALT and request the smallest missing clarification needed to continue.

---

2. Load Knowledge Base

From {knowledgeIndex} load:

• test-priorities-matrix.md
• risk-governance.md
• probability-impact.md
• test-quality.md
• selective-testing.md

---

3. Load Artifacts

If available:

• Story file and acceptance criteria
• Test design doc (priorities)
• Tech spec / PRD
• OpenAPI or similar contract/spec files
• Placeholder files that reference external requirements systems
• Route maps, page/screen registries, and other source files used for synthetic journey inference

Summarize what was found and explicitly state the resolved oracle, its confidence, and why that oracle was selected.

---

4. Save Progress

Save this step's accumulated work to {outputFile}.

• If {outputFile} does not exist (first save), create it using the workflow template (if available) with YAML frontmatter:

  ---
  stepsCompleted: ['step-01-load-context']
  lastStep: 'step-01-load-context'
  lastSaved: '{date}'
  coverageBasis: '{resolved coverage_basis}'
  oracleConfidence: '{resolved oracle_confidence}'
  oracleResolutionMode: '{resolved oracle_resolution_mode}'
  oracleSources: ['{resolved oracle source 1}', '{resolved oracle source 2}']
  externalPointerStatus: '{resolved external_pointer_status}'
  ---
  

  Then write this step's output below the frontmatter.

• If {outputFile} already exists, update:

  • Add 'step-01-load-context' to stepsCompleted array (only if not already present)
  • Set lastStep: 'step-01-load-context'
  • Set lastSaved: '{date}'
  • Set coverageBasis to the resolved oracle basis
  • Set oracleConfidence to the resolved oracle confidence
  • Set oracleResolutionMode to the resolved oracle resolution mode
  • Set oracleSources to the resolved oracle sources
  • Set externalPointerStatus to the resolved external pointer status
  • Append this step's output to the appropriate section of the document.

Load next step: {nextStepFile}

🚨 SYSTEM SUCCESS/FAILURE METRICS:

✅ SUCCESS:

• Step completed in full with required outputs

❌ SYSTEM FAILURE:

• Skipped sequence steps or missing outputs Master Rule: Skipping steps is FORBIDDEN.