testing-skills-with-subagents

Test-driven documentation applies RED-GREEN-REFACTOR cycles to skill processes: run baselines without the skill to capture failures, write minimal skill fixes, then stress-test with combined pressures (time, sunk cost, authority) to expose rationalizations and close loopholes before deployment.

Create multi-pressure scenarios that combine time constraints, authority influence, and sunk-cost bias to reveal where agents compromise skill compliance. Iterate through RED-GREEN-REFACTOR cycles, explicitly capturing and countering each rationalization until the skill remains bulletproof.

Run baseline tests without the skill to establish verbatim failure modes, then apply pressure scenarios that combine competing incentives. Compare agent behavior against documented expectations to isolate rationalizations, then refine skill language or process clarity to eliminate escape routes.

Yes. Run RED-phase baselines with the existing skill under normal and pressure conditions, document where behavior deviates from intent, then iterate GREEN-REFACTOR cycles to close gaps. This ensures deployed skills remain compliant across realistic scenarios.

That signals incomplete skill design. Pressure scenarios (time scarcity, authority claims, sunk costs) reveal rationalizations that normal tests miss. Return to GREEN-REFACTOR to tighten process wording, add explicit compliance checkpoints, or redefine boundaries until the skill withstands all pressures.