bmad-template/.workbuddy/skills/bmad-testarch-nfr/steps-c/step-01-load-context.md

---

name: ‘step-01-load-context’ description: ‘Load NFR requirements, evidence sources, and knowledge base’ nextStepFile: ‘{skill-root}/steps-c/step-02-define-thresholds.md’ knowledgeIndex: ‘./resources/tea-index.csv’

outputFile: ‘{test_artifacts}/nfr-assessment.md’

Step 1: Load Context & Knowledge Base

STEP GOAL

Gather NFR requirements, evidence sources, and knowledge fragments needed for the evidence audit.

MANDATORY EXECUTION RULES

• 📖 Read the entire step file before acting
• ✅ Speak in {communication_language}
• 🚫 Halt if implementation or evidence is unavailable

---

EXECUTION PROTOCOLS:

• 🎯 Follow the MANDATORY SEQUENCE exactly
• 💾 Record outputs before proceeding
• 📖 Load the next step only when instructed

CONTEXT BOUNDARIES:

• Available context: config, loaded artifacts, and knowledge fragments
• Focus: this step’s goal only
• Limits: do not execute future steps
• Dependencies: prior steps’ outputs (if any)

MANDATORY SEQUENCE

CRITICAL: Follow this sequence exactly. Do not skip, reorder, or improvise.

1. Prerequisites

• Implementation accessible for evaluation
• Evidence sources available (test results, metrics, logs)

If missing: HALT and request the missing inputs.

---

2. Load Configuration

From {config_source}:

• Read tea_browser_automation

---

Tiered Knowledge Loading

Load fragments based on their tier classification in tea-index.csv:

1. Core tier (always load): Foundational fragments required for this workflow
2. Extended tier (load on-demand): Load when deeper analysis is needed or when the user’s context requires it
3. Specialized tier (load only when relevant): Load only when the specific use case matches (e.g., contract-testing only for microservices, email-auth only for email flows)

Context Efficiency: Loading only core fragments reduces context usage by 40-50% compared to loading all fragments.

3. Load Knowledge Base Fragments

From {knowledgeIndex} load:

• adr-quality-readiness-checklist.md
• ci-burn-in.md
• test-quality.md
• playwright-config.md
• error-handling.md

Playwright CLI (if tea_browser_automation is “cli” or “auto”):

• playwright-cli.md

MCP Patterns (if tea_browser_automation is “mcp” or “auto”):

• (existing MCP-related fragments, if any are added in future)

---

4. Load Artifacts

If available, read:

• tech-spec.md (primary NFRs)
• PRD.md (product-level NFRs)
• story or test-design docs (feature-level NFRs)

---

5. Confirm Inputs

Summarize loaded NFR sources and evidence availability.

---

6. Save Progress

Save this step’s accumulated work to {outputFile}.

• If {outputFile} does not exist (first save), create it using the workflow template (if available) with YAML frontmatter:

  ---
  stepsCompleted: ['step-01-load-context']
  lastStep: 'step-01-load-context'
  lastSaved: '{date}'
  ---

Then write this step’s output below the frontmatter.

• If {outputFile} already exists, update:
  • Add 'step-01-load-context' to stepsCompleted array (only if not already present)
  • Set lastStep: 'step-01-load-context'
  • Set lastSaved: '{date}'
  • Append this step’s output to the appropriate section of the document.

Update inputDocuments: Set inputDocuments in the output template frontmatter to the list of artifact paths loaded in this step (e.g., knowledge fragments, test design documents, configuration files).

Load next step: {nextStepFile}

🚨 SYSTEM SUCCESS/FAILURE METRICS:

✅ SUCCESS:

• Step completed in full with required outputs

❌ SYSTEM FAILURE:

• Skipped sequence steps or missing outputs Master Rule: Skipping steps is FORBIDDEN.