writing-skills

TDD for documentation prevents agent rationalization by applying a RED-GREEN-REFACTOR cycle to skill creation, defining failing pressure scenarios first and then documenting minimal instructions to ensure strict rule compliance.

The RED-GREEN-REFACTOR cycle for agent skills is a test-driven development process where you define a failing pressure scenario, write the minimal documentation to pass it, and refactor the instructions to ensure they remain bulletproof against rationalization.

To create a new skill using Test-Driven Development methodologies, you start by defining a failing pressure scenario that highlights an agent's potential rationalization, then document the minimal instructions required to ensure compliance and verify the skill.

AI agents ignore documentation and break process rules due to rationalization, which you can counter by standardizing skill creation with TDD methodologies that enforce discipline through structured testing and verification cycles.

You should use TDD to update existing agent skills when you need to ensure the documentation is robust, testable, and resistant to being ignored by future agent instances during process execution.

Testing agent skills for compliance without Test-Driven Development lacks the structured verification needed to prevent rationalization, making TDD methodologies essential for creating bulletproof, discipline-enforcing documentation.