Agent skill

Test Design Patterns

by revfactory in revfactory/harness-100

Patterns for effective test design, including boundary value analysis, equivalence partitioning, state transition testing, and other systematic test case derivation methodologies.

Apache-2.0Auto-check passedDevelopment

Install Test Design Patterns

skills CLI
$ npx skills add revfactory/harness-100 --skill test-design-patterns -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install revfactory/harness-100 test-design-patterns --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/revfactory/harness-100.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/en/24-test-automation/.claude/skills/test-design-patterns .claude/skills/test-design-patterns && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
test-design-patterns
GitHub stars
1.3k
Token cost
~1.3k tokens
SKILL.md length
77 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
464
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Apache-2.0

At a glance

Patterns for effective test design, including boundary value analysis, equivalence partitioning, state transition testing, and other systematic test case derivation methodologies.

  • Works in 5 steps: Equivalence Partitioning → Boundary Value Analysis → State Transition Testing → …
  • Test case derivation
  • SKILL.md covers Test Case Derivation Techniques, Test Structure Patterns, Test Pyramid Ratio Guide and Risk-based Test Prioritization
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Test Design Patterns is an agent skill from revfactory/harness-100. Patterns for effective test design, including boundary value analysis, equivalence partitioning, state transition testing, and other systematic test case derivation methodologies. Use this skill for 'test design', 'test case derivation', 'boundary value analysis', 'equivalence partitioning', 'state transition testing', 'pairwise', 'test matrix', and other test design tasks. Enhances the test design capabilities of test-strategist and unit-tester. Note: test infrastructure setup and CI/CD configuration are outside…

Its SKILL.md is about 1.3k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Development, covering Design patterns, Test generation and CI/CD. The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

  • Test case derivation
  • Boundary value analysis
  • Equivalence partitioning
  • State transition testing

Example prompts

  • “test design”
  • “test case derivation”
  • “boundary value analysis”
  • “/test-design-patterns”

Requirements

  • Python 3

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Equivalence Partitioning
  2. Boundary Value Analysis
  3. State Transition Testing
  4. Pairwise Testing
  5. Decision Table

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 8e8d35c. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are python).

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Test Design Patterns loads about 1.3k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 141 tokens; SKILL.md has 77 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~141
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.3k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from revfactory/harness-100 at commit 8e8d35c, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© revfactory). 77 words, ~1,259 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/test-design-patterns/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
test-design-patterns
description
Patterns for effective test design, including boundary value analysis, equivalence partitioning, state transition testing, and other systematic test case derivation methodologies. Use this skill for 'test design', 'test case derivation', 'boundary value analysis', 'equivalence partitioning', 'state transition testing', 'pairwise', 'test matrix', and other test design tasks. Enhances the test design capabilities of test-strategist and unit-tester. Note: test infrastructure setup and CI/CD configuration are outside the scope of this skill.

Test Design Patterns — Systematic Test Design Guide

Methodologies for systematically deriving and effectively structuring test cases.

Test Case Derivation Techniques

1. Equivalence Partitioning
Input: Age (integer 1-150)
+-- Valid class: [1, 150] -> representative: 25
+-- Invalid class 1: < 1   -> representative: 0, -1
+-- Invalid class 2: > 150 -> representative: 151, 999
+-- Invalid class 3: non-integer -> representative: 25.5, "abc"
+-- Invalid class 4: null  -> representative: null, undefined
2. Boundary Value Analysis
Range: [1, 150]
Test values: 0, 1, 2, ... , 149, 150, 151
             ^  ^  ^        ^    ^    ^
          invalid boundary valid  valid boundary invalid

3-point boundary: min-1, min, max, max+1
7-point boundary: min-1, min, min+1, nominal, max-1, max, max+1
3. State Transition Testing
Order state transitions:
CREATED -(payment)-> PAID -(shipping start)-> SHIPPING -(delivery)-> DELIVERED
   |                  |                         |                      |
   +-(cancel)-> CANCELLED  +-(refund)-> REFUNDED  +-(return)-> RETURNED  +-(return)-> RETURNED

Test cases:
1. Happy Path: CREATED -> PAID -> SHIPPING -> DELIVERED
2. Order cancel: CREATED -> CANCELLED
3. Post-payment refund: CREATED -> PAID -> REFUNDED
4. In-transit return: CREATED -> PAID -> SHIPPING -> RETURNED
5. Invalid transition: CANCELLED -> PAID (should be rejected)
6. Invalid transition: DELIVERED -> SHIPPING (should be rejected)
4. Pairwise Testing
Parameters:
- OS: Windows, macOS, Linux
- Browser: Chrome, Firefox, Safari
- Language: ko, en, ja

Full combinations: 3x3x3 = 27
Pairwise: Reduced to 9 (covers all 2-way combinations)

| # | OS      | Browser | Language |
|---|---------|---------|----------|
| 1 | Windows | Chrome  | ko       |
| 2 | Windows | Firefox | en       |
| 3 | Windows | Safari  | ja       |
| 4 | macOS   | Chrome  | en       |
| 5 | macOS   | Firefox | ja       |
| 6 | macOS   | Safari  | ko       |
| 7 | Linux   | Chrome  | ja       |
| 8 | Linux   | Firefox | ko       |
| 9 | Linux   | Safari  | en       |
5. Decision Table
Discount rules:
Condition                    | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
-----------------------------+----+----+----+----+
VIP member?                  | Y  | Y  | N  | N  |
Order amount >= $50?         | Y  | N  | Y  | N  |
-----------------------------+----+----+----+----+
15% discount                 | X  |    |    |    |
10% discount                 |    | X  | X  |    |
No discount                  |    |    |    | X  |

Test Structure Patterns

AAA (Arrange-Act-Assert)
python
def test_order_total_with_discount():
    # Arrange
    order = Order(items=[Item("A", 10000), Item("B", 20000)])
    discount = PercentageDiscount(10)

    # Act
    total = order.calculate_total(discount)

    # Assert
    assert total == 27000
Given-When-Then (BDD)
python
def test_vip_customer_gets_extra_discount():
    # Given: A VIP customer places an order of $50 or more
    customer = Customer(tier="VIP")
    order = Order(customer, total=60000)

    # When: Discount is applied
    discounted = pricing_service.apply_discount(order)

    # Then: 15% discount is applied
    assert discounted == 51000
Builder Pattern (Test Data)
python
class OrderBuilder:
    def __init__(self):
        self._customer = default_customer()
        self._items = []
    def with_vip_customer(self): ...
    def with_item(self, name, price): ...
    def build(self) -> Order: ...

# Usage
order = OrderBuilder().with_vip_customer().with_item("A", 10000).build()

Test Pyramid Ratio Guide

        / E2E  \          5-10%   Slow but realistic
       /--------\
      / Integration \     20-30%  Inter-service integration
     /--------------\
    /  Unit Tests    \    60-70%  Fast and isolated
   /------------------\
LayerExecution TimeScopeFailure Cause
Unit< 10msFunction/classLogic error
Integration< 5sInter-moduleInterface mismatch
E2E< 60sFull flowEnvironment, timing

Risk-based Test Prioritization

Risk = Failure Probability x Business Impact

       High Impact
          |
  P1 Tests | P0 Tests
  (Must)   | (Top Priority)
  ---------+----------> High Probability
  P3 Tests | P2 Tests
  (If time)| (Recommended)
          |
       Low Impact

© revfactory, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in en/24-test-automation/.claude/skills/test-design-patterns of revfactory/harness-100.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 8e8d35c

Compare with similar skills

Test Design Patterns next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Test Design Patterns compared with similar skills
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Write Testethereum/execution-specs1.2k—~4.6kAutomated safety check: PassCC0-1.0
Validate Changesgaelcolas/Sampler244—~1.8kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Write TestsDataDog/datadog-ci161—~435Automated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Console Testingsynnaxlabs/synnax128—~5.4kAutomated safety check: PassCustom licence

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Questions about Test Design Patterns

What does Test Design Patterns do?

Patterns for effective test design, including boundary value analysis, equivalence partitioning, state transition testing, and other systematic test case derivation methodologies. Test Design Patterns is an agent skill from revfactory/harness-100. Patterns for effective test design, including boundary value analysis, equivalence partitioning, state transition testing, and other systematic test case derivation methodologies.

When should I use Test Design Patterns?

Test Design Patterns fits situations like: test case derivation; boundary value analysis; equivalence partitioning; state transition testing.

How do I install Test Design Patterns in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add revfactory/harness-100 --skill test-design-patterns -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (en/24-test-automation/.claude/skills/test-design-patterns in revfactory/harness-100) into .claude/skills/test-design-patterns in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Test Design Patterns in Codex?

Run `npx skills add revfactory/harness-100 --skill test-design-patterns -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (en/24-test-automation/.claude/skills/test-design-patterns in revfactory/harness-100) into .agents/skills/test-design-patterns in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Test Design Patterns in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add revfactory/harness-100 --skill test-design-patterns -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/test-design-patterns, .gemini/skills/test-design-patterns, .github/skills/test-design-patterns and .opencode/skills/test-design-patterns in your project.

What does Test Design Patterns need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Test Design Patterns is instructions for the agent only. Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does Test Design Patterns access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Test Design Patterns safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Test Design Patterns use?

Test Design Patterns is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Test Design Patterns use?

About 1.3k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 5k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Test Design Patterns?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Test Design Patterns: Reviewing Changes (bitwarden/ios, 694 stars), Write Test (ethereum/execution-specs, 1.2k stars), Validate Changes (gaelcolas/Sampler, 244 stars) and Write Tests (DataDog/datadog-ci, 161 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Test Design Patterns?

revfactory (a GitHub user) maintains it in revfactory/harness-100, which has 1,290 GitHub stars. The repository holds 464 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on March 22, 2026.

Source: revfactory/harness-100 on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.