QE Workflows

Plan tests, execute all layers, publish results.

Two workflows that cover the full QE lifecycle — from test planning against story requirements to multi-layer execution with failure classification and Jira publishing.

The Problem

QE execution is manual, fragmented, and disconnected from planning. Test plans live in docs, execution lives in CI, and results live in spreadsheets. Regressions slip through, coverage gaps go unnoticed, and nobody knows the real quality state.

No standalone QE execution

Tests run in CI pipelines but QE can’t trigger a structured execution pass on demand.

Manual regression tracking

Failures are triaged manually — no automatic classification of regressions vs. pre-existing vs. flaky.

Planning ≠ execution gap

Test plans from story QA don’t flow into execution — QE re-discovers what to test every time.

Two workflows. Plan → Execute.

Story QA plans the tests during story readiness. QE Run executes them after development, classifies every failure, and publishes results to Jira.

Full QE Pipeline

/story-qaTEST_PLAN.mdDevelopment/qe-runQE_REPORT.mdJira

/story-qa plans tests during readiness. Development builds the feature. /qe-run verifies after dev is complete.

Workflow Comparison

AspectStory QAQE Run
RoleQE / SDET (planning)QE / SDET (execution)
WhenBefore development (story readiness)After development (verification)
InputEngineered story + Confluence specsJira ticket + TEST_PLAN.md (optional)
OutputTEST_PLAN.md + TEST_DATA_PLAN.mdQE_REPORT.md + Jira bug tickets
Phases~6 phases~12 phases
Test layers5 (unit, integration, E2E, security, performance)6 (+ accessibility)
SignalSTORY_SPRINT_READYQE_COMPLETE

How it works

1

Generate story workflows

Run the story generator to create /story-qa — this creates the test planning workflow used during story readiness.

2

Generate QE workflows

Run the QE generator to create /qe-run — it surveys your test stack, detects test repo location (same repo, monorepo, or separate), and generates a validated execution workflow in 3 phases (survey, generate, validate).

3

Plan with /story-qa

During story readiness, QE runs /story-qa to plan tests across 5 layers. The output (TEST_PLAN.md) is ready for execution once development completes.

4

Development builds the feature

Dev uses /bug-fix, /feature-enhance, or /feature-build to implement the story. The development workflow produces code changes that QE will verify in the next step.

5

Verify with /qe-run

After development, QE runs /qe-run to execute all test layers, classify failures against baseline, generate a report, and publish results to Jira with auto-created bug tickets.

Deep Dives