Stella Ops Testing Strategy Master Plan (2026 H1)

Audience: program/project managers, guild leads, and the steering committee for the 2026 H1 testing initiative. Executive summary: a 14-week program to establish model-driven test coverage across 15 modules, deliver 6 foundation epics, and achieve a 30%+ platform-wide code-coverage increase. Status: planning artifact. Sprint files under docs/implplan/ and the Test Coverage Matrix are the live source of truth for execution state.

Document Control

Table of Contents

1. Program Objectives
2. Scope & Deliverables
3. Timeline & Phases
4. Resource Model
5. Risk Register
6. Success Metrics
7. Governance
8. Communication Plan

Program Objectives

Primary Objectives

1. Establish Model-Driven Testing: Implement 9 test models (L0, S1, T1, C1, W1, WK1, AN1, CLI1, PERF) across 15 modules
2. Increase Code Coverage: Achieve ≥30% code coverage increase from baseline (current ~40% → target 70%+)
3. Enforce Quality Gates: Implement determinism, architecture, and module-specific quality gates
4. Build Test Infrastructure: Deliver 6 foundation epics (TestKit, Determinism, Storage, Connectors, WebService, Architecture)
5. Enable CI/CD Confidence: Establish PR-gating and merge-gating test lanes

Secondary Objectives

1. Reduce Test Flakiness: Achieve 100% deterministic test pass rate (eliminate timing-based failures)
2. Improve Developer Experience: Standardize test patterns, reduce test authoring friction
3. Establish Parity Monitoring: Continuous validation against competitor tools (Syft, Grype, Trivy, Anchore)
4. Document Test Strategy: Create comprehensive testing guides and playbooks

Scope & Deliverables

In-Scope

Foundation Epics (Batch 5100.0007, 90 tasks)

Module Test Implementations (Batch 5100.0009, 185 tasks)

Infrastructure Test Implementations (Batch 5100.0010, 62 tasks)

Quality Gates (Batch 5100.0008, 11 tasks)

Out-of-Scope

• ❌ Performance optimization (beyond PERF smoke tests for Scanner)
• ❌ UI/UX testing (beyond W1 contract tests and E2E smoke tests)
• ❌ Load testing (deferred to future sprint)
• ❌ Chaos engineering (deferred to future sprint)
• ❌ Mobile/responsive testing (not applicable - server-side platform)
• ❌ Penetration testing (separate security initiative)

Timeline & Phases

Master Timeline (14 Weeks, 2026-01-06 to 2026-04-14)

PHASE 1: FOUNDATION (Weeks 1-4)
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Week 1-2: Master Strategy (5100.0007.0001)                  │
│  - Documentation sync                                        │
│  - Test runner scripts                                       │
│  - Trait standardization                                     │
│  - Epic sprint creation                                      │
│                                                              │
│ Week 3-4: TestKit Foundations (5100.0007.0002) ← CRITICAL   │
│  - DeterministicTime, DeterministicRandom                    │
│  - CanonicalJsonAssert, SnapshotAssert                       │
│  - PostgresFixture, ValkeyFixture, OtelCapture               │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

PHASE 2: EPIC IMPLEMENTATION (Weeks 5-6)
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Week 5-6: 5 Epic Sprints (PARALLEL)                         │
│  - 5100.0007.0003 (Determinism Gate)                         │
│  - 5100.0007.0004 (Storage Harness)                          │
│  - 5100.0007.0005 (Connector Fixtures)                       │
│  - 5100.0007.0006 (WebService Contract)                      │
│  - 5100.0007.0007 (Architecture Tests)                       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

PHASE 3: MODULE TESTS - TIER 1 (Weeks 7-8)
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Week 7-8: 6 Module Sprints (PARALLEL)                       │
│  - Scanner, Concelier, Excititor (core platform)            │
│  - Policy, Authority, Signer (security/compliance)          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

PHASE 4: MODULE TESTS - TIER 2 (Weeks 9-10)
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Week 9-10: 5 Module Sprints (PARALLEL)                      │
│  - Attestor, Scheduler, Notify (platform services)          │
│  - CLI, UI (client interfaces)                              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

PHASE 5: INFRASTRUCTURE TESTS (Weeks 11-14)
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Week 11-14: 4 Infrastructure Sprints (PARALLEL)             │
│  - EvidenceLocker, Graph, Router/Messaging, AirGap          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

ONGOING: QUALITY GATES (Weeks 3-14+)
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Week 3: Competitor Parity harness setup                     │
│ Week 4+: Nightly/weekly parity tests                        │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Critical Path (14 Weeks)

Week 1-2: Master Strategy → Week 3-4: TestKit ← BOTTLENECK → Week 5-6: Epic Implementation → Week 7-10: Module Tests → Week 11-14: Infrastructure Tests

Critical Path Risks:

• TestKit delay → ALL downstream sprints blocked (+2-4 weeks)
• Storage harness delay → 10 sprints blocked (+2-3 weeks)

Milestones

Resource Model

Guild Allocation

Staffing Profile

Peak Staffing (Weeks 7-10): 22-26 engineers Average Staffing (Weeks 1-14): 12-16 engineers Critical Path Sprints (TestKit, Storage): 3-4 senior engineers each

Resource Constraints

Risk Register

High-Impact Risks (Severity: CRITICAL)

Medium-Impact Risks

Low-Impact Risks

Risk Burn-Down Plan

Week 1: Validate Testcontainers .NET 10 compatibility (R2) Week 2: TestKit API design review (R1) Week 4: Determinism test strategy review (R3) Week 6: CI infrastructure capacity review (R4) Week 8: Signer-Attestor integration coordination (R5)

Success Metrics

Quantitative Metrics

Qualitative Metrics

Program Success Criteria

✅ Program Successful If:

• All 22 sprints signed off (5100.0007.* + 5100.0008.0001 + 5100.0009.* + 5100.0010.*)
• Code coverage ≥70% platform-wide
• Determinism tests passing 100% in CI (no flaky tests)
• Contract tests enforced for all 13 WebServices
• Architecture tests PR-gating (lattice boundary violations blocked)

❌ Program Failed If:

• <18 sprints signed off (<80% completion)
• Code coverage increase <20% (baseline ~40% → <60%)
• Critical quality gates missing (Determinism, Architecture, Contract)
• TestKit not operational (blocking all module tests)

Governance

Steering Committee

Decision-Making Authority

Status Reporting

Weekly Status Report (Fridays):

• Sprint completion status (% tasks complete)
• Blockers and risks (RED/YELLOW/GREEN)
• Resource allocation (current vs. planned)
• Next week preview

Monthly Executive Summary:

• Program health (on-track / at-risk / off-track)
• Milestone completion (M1-M5)
• Budget vs. actuals
• Key risks and mitigations

Change Control

Change Request Process:

1. Requester submits change request (scope, schedule, or resource change)
2. Program Manager reviews (impact analysis: cost, schedule, quality)
3. Steering Committee approves/rejects (for changes >1 week or >10% budget)
4. Program Manager updates plan (timeline, resource model, risk register)

Communication Plan

Stakeholders

Meetings

Weekly Sync (Every Friday, 30 min)

Attendees: All active sprint owners + program manager Agenda:

1. Sprint status updates (green/yellow/red) (15 min)
2. Blocker escalation (10 min)
3. Next week preview (5 min)

Monthly Steering Committee (First Monday, 60 min)

Attendees: Steering Committee (CTO, Program Manager, Platform Guild Lead, QA Lead) Agenda:

1. Program health review (on-track / at-risk / off-track) (20 min)
2. Milestone completion (M1-M5) (15 min)
3. Budget vs. actuals (10 min)
4. Risk review (top 3 risks) (10 min)
5. Decisions required (5 min)

Retrospective (Week 14, 90 min)

Attendees: All guild leads + program manager + steering committee Agenda:

1. Program retrospective (what went well, what didn’t, lessons learned) (60 min)
2. Metrics review (code coverage, test count, determinism, etc.) (20 min)
3. Future improvements (next testing initiatives) (10 min)

Appendices

Appendix A: Sprint Inventory

Total Sprints: 22

• Foundation Epics: 7 (5100.0007.0001-0007)
• Quality Gates: 1 (5100.0008.0001)
• Module Tests: 11 (5100.0009.0001-0011)
• Infrastructure Tests: 4 (5100.0010.0001-0004)

Total Tasks: ~370 tasks Total Estimated Effort: ~450 engineer-days (assuming avg 1.2 days/task)

Appendix B: Reference Documents

1. Advisory: “Better testing strategy” (December 2025), now archived under docs-archive/product/advisories/.
2. Test catalog: the planning-era TEST_CATALOG.yml was superseded by the implemented TEST_MANIFEST.yml; see TEST_MANIFEST.md for its contract.
3. Test models: testing-strategy-models.md (includes Turn #6 enhancements: intent tagging, observability contracts, evidence traceability, longevity, interop).
4. Dependency graph: SPRINT_DEPENDENCY_GRAPH.md.
5. Coverage matrix: TEST_COVERAGE_MATRIX.md.
6. Execution playbook: SPRINT_EXECUTION_PLAYBOOK.md.
7. Testing practices: docs/code-of-conduct/TESTING_PRACTICES.md (Turn #6 mandatory practices).
8. CI quality gates: ci-quality-gates.md (Turn #6 gates).

Appendix C: Budget Estimate (Preliminary)

Assumptions:

• Average engineer cost: $150/hour (fully loaded)
• Average sprint duration: 80 hours (2 weeks × 40 hours)
• Peak staffing: 22 engineers (Weeks 7-10)

Budget Estimate:

• Foundation Phase (Weeks 1-6): 12 engineers × 240 hours × $150 = $432,000
• Module Tests Phase (Weeks 7-10): 22 engineers × 160 hours × $150 = $528,000
• Infrastructure Phase (Weeks 11-14): 8 engineers × 160 hours × $150 = $192,000
• Total Estimated Cost: $1,152,000

Note: Final budget requires approval from CTO/Finance. Contractor costs may reduce total if used strategically for peak staffing (Weeks 7-10).

Prepared by: Project Management Approval Required From: Steering Committee (CTO, Program Manager, Platform Guild Lead, QA Lead) Date: 2025-12-23 Next Review: 2026-01-06 (Week 1 kickoff)