writing-skills

Test-Driven Development for AI skill development applies the RED-GREEN-REFACTOR cycle to skill documentation, ensuring robust and effective agent behavior through rigorous pressure testing and compliance checks.

Agents often bypass skill documentation under realistic constraints like time or sunk cost due to rationalization. This issue is solved by identifying common excuses and applying explicit countermeasures during skill authoring.

The best way to pressure test agent behavior is to develop scenarios that simulate realistic operational constraints, verifying that the skill documentation maintains strict rule enforcement without finding loopholes.

To write test scenarios for skill documentation, follow the RED-GREEN-REFACTOR cycle: write scenarios agents fail without the skill, write the skill to make them pass, then refactor to eliminate any rationalization loopholes.

You need to use TDD for skill authoring before deploying new or updated skills that enforce critical coding standards, ensuring the documentation is robust, compliant, and effective under realistic operational constraints.