Orchestrate quality engineering across CI/CD pipeline phases. Use when designing test strategies, planning quality gates, or implementing shift-left/shift-right testing.
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name: cicd-pipeline-qe-orchestrator description: "Orchestrate quality engineering across CI/CD pipeline phases. Use when designing test strategies, planning quality gates, or implementing shift-left/shift-right testing." category: infrastructure priority: critical tokenEstimate: 1300 agents: [qe-fleet-commander, qe-test-generator, qe-test-executor, qe-coverage-analyzer, qe-quality-gate, qe-deployment-readiness] implementation_status: optimized optimization_version: 1.0 last_optimized: 2025-12-02 dependencies: [agentic-quality-engineering, shift-left-testing] quick_reference_card: true tags: [cicd, pipeline, orchestration, quality-gates, shift-left, shift-right, fleet]
CI/CD Pipeline QE Orchestrator
<default_to_action> When orchestrating quality across CI/CD pipeline:
- ANALYZE pipeline phases: commit, build, test, staging, production
- SELECT optimal skills and agents for each phase
- CONFIGURE quality gates with measurable thresholds
- EXECUTE with parallel agent coordination
- ADAPT strategy based on risk, complexity, and environment
Quick Phase Selection:
- Commit (Shift-Left) → TDD, code review, unit tests
- Build → Coverage analysis, mutation testing, flaky detection
- Integration → API contracts, performance, security
- Staging → Chaos testing, visual regression, accessibility
- Production (Shift-Right) → Synthetic monitoring, RUM, compliance
Critical Success Factors:
- Quality gates block bad deployments
- Agents coordinate through memory namespaces
- Adapt strategy based on risk level </default_to_action>
Quick Reference Card
When to Use
- Designing pipeline test strategies
- Implementing quality gates
- Coordinating multiple QE agents
- Shift-left and shift-right testing
Phase-Agent Matrix
| Phase | Primary Agents | Key Skills |
|---|---|---|
| Commit | qe-test-generator, qe-requirements-validator | tdd-london-chicago, shift-left |
| Build | qe-test-executor, qe-coverage-analyzer, qe-flaky-test-hunter | test-automation, mutation-testing |
| Test | qe-api-contract-validator, qe-performance-tester, qe-security-scanner | api-testing, performance, security |
| Staging | qe-chaos-engineer, qe-visual-tester, qe-deployment-readiness | chaos-engineering, accessibility |
| Prod | qe-production-intelligence, qe-quality-analyzer | shift-right, compliance |
Quality Gate Thresholds
| Phase | Metric | Threshold | Blocking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commit | Unit coverage | > 80% | Yes |
| Build | All tests pass | 100% | Yes |
| Build | Mutation score | > 70% | No |
| Test | API contracts | No breaking changes | Yes |
| Test | p95 response | < 200ms | Yes |
| Test | Security critical | 0 | Yes |
| Staging | Deployment readiness | > 85% | Yes |
Fleet Configuration
- Topology: hierarchical
- Max Agents: 10 per phase
- Coordination: aqe/* memory namespace
Pipeline Phases
Phase 1: Commit (Shift-Left)
Goal: Catch defects early, ensure testability
Agents:
qe-test-generator- Generate unit testsqe-requirements-validator- BDD scenarios, INVEST criteria
Skills: shift-left-testing, tdd-london-chicago, code-review-quality
// Parallel execution
Task("Generate Tests", "Create unit tests for new methods", "qe-test-generator")
Task("Validate Requirements", "Check BDD scenarios", "qe-requirements-validator")
Gates: Unit coverage > 80%, Static analysis clean, Code review approved
Phase 2: Build
Goal: Validate integration, ensure coverage
Agents:
qe-test-executor- Run test suitesqe-coverage-analyzer- Coverage gaps (O(log n))qe-flaky-test-hunter- Detect/stabilize flaky testsqe-regression-risk-analyzer- Minimal regression suite
Skills: test-automation-strategy, mutation-testing, regression-testing
Task("Execute Tests", "Run full suite, store in aqe/test-results/*", "qe-test-executor")
Task("Coverage Analysis", "Identify gaps", "qe-coverage-analyzer")
Task("Flaky Detection", "Analyze test history", "qe-flaky-test-hunter")
Gates: All tests pass, Coverage > 90% critical paths, No new flaky tests
Phase 3: Integration/Test
Goal: Validate contracts, performance, security
Agents:
qe-api-contract-validator- Breaking changes detectionqe-performance-tester- Load test critical pathsqe-security-scanner- SAST/DAST scansqe-test-data-architect- Realistic test data (10k+/sec)
Skills: api-testing-patterns, performance-testing, security-testing
// Parallel testing
Task("API Contracts", "Validate for breaking changes", "qe-api-contract-validator")
Task("Performance", "Load test 1000 users", "qe-performance-tester")
Task("Security", "SAST/DAST scan", "qe-security-scanner")
Gates: No breaking API changes, p95 < 200ms, No critical vulnerabilities
Phase 4: Staging
Goal: Validate production-like environment, resilience
Agents:
qe-chaos-engineer- Fault injectionqe-visual-tester- Visual regressionqe-deployment-readiness- Risk assessment
Skills: chaos-engineering-resilience, accessibility-testing, visual-testing
Task("Chaos Testing", "Controlled failure injection", "qe-chaos-engineer")
Task("Visual Testing", "Visual regression", "qe-visual-tester")
Task("Deployment Check", "Risk assessment", "qe-deployment-readiness")
Gates: Chaos tests pass, No visual regressions, Readiness > 85%
Phase 5: Production (Shift-Right)
Goal: Monitor real usage, validate compliance
Agents:
qe-production-intelligence- Incident → test scenariosqe-quality-analyzer- Quality metrics and trends
Skills: shift-right-testing, compliance-testing
Task("Production Intelligence", "Convert incidents to tests", "qe-production-intelligence")
Task("Quality Analysis", "Production metrics", "qe-quality-analyzer")
Gates: Synthetic monitors pass, Error rate < 0.1%, Compliance validated
Complete Pipeline Example
// Phase 1: Commit
Task("TDD Generation", "Generate tests for new features", "qe-test-generator")
Task("Requirements", "Validate BDD scenarios", "qe-requirements-validator")
// Phase 2: Build
Task("Execute Tests", "Full suite with coverage", "qe-test-executor")
Task("Coverage", "Analyze gaps", "qe-coverage-analyzer")
Task("Flaky Hunt", "Stabilize flaky tests", "qe-flaky-test-hunter")
// Phase 3: Integration
Task("API Contracts", "Check breaking changes", "qe-api-contract-validator")
Task("Performance", "1000 user load test", "qe-performance-tester")
Task("Security", "SAST/DAST scans", "qe-security-scanner")
// Phase 4: Staging
Task("Chaos", "Fault injection testing", "qe-chaos-engineer")
Task("Visual", "Visual regression", "qe-visual-tester")
Task("Readiness", "Deployment assessment", "qe-deployment-readiness")
// Phase 5: Production
Task("Intelligence", "Convert incidents", "qe-production-intelligence")
Task("Quality Gate", "Final validation", "qe-quality-gate")
Adaptive Strategy
By Risk Level
| Risk | Strategy | Agents |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | All phases, manual gates | Full fleet |
| High | Automated gates, comprehensive | 10+ agents |
| Medium | Smart selection, risk-based | 5-8 agents |
| Low | Minimal regression, fast | 2-3 agents |
By Application Type
| Type | Focus Skills | Primary Agents |
|---|---|---|
| API | api-testing, contract, performance | api-contract-validator, performance-tester |
| Web UI | visual-testing, accessibility | visual-tester, accessibility |
| Mobile | mobile-testing, compatibility | performance-tester, visual-tester |
| Backend | database-testing, security | security-scanner, performance-tester |
Agent Coordination Hints
Memory Namespace
aqe/pipeline/
├── phase-results/* - Results from each phase
├── quality-gates/* - Gate validation results
├── orchestration-plan/* - Selected skills and agents
├── test-plan/generated - Test plans
├── coverage/gaps - Coverage analysis
├── security/findings - Security results
└── performance/results - Performance data
Fleet Orchestration
Task("Fleet Orchestration",
"Coordinate 10 agents across phases: commit (2), build (3), test (3), staging (2)",
"qe-fleet-commander")
Blackboard Events
| Event | Trigger | Subscribers |
|---|---|---|
phase:commit:complete | Commit phase done | build agents |
coverage:gap:detected | Gap found | test-generator |
security:finding:critical | Vulnerability | quality-gate |
quality:gate:evaluated | Gate decision | fleet-commander |
Quality Gate Configuration
{
"commit": {
"gates": [
{ "metric": "unit_coverage", "threshold": 80, "blocking": true },
{ "metric": "static_analysis_critical", "max": 0, "blocking": true }
]
},
"build": {
"gates": [
{ "metric": "all_tests_passed", "threshold": 100, "blocking": true },
{ "metric": "mutation_score", "threshold": 70, "blocking": false }
]
},
"integration": {
"gates": [
{ "metric": "api_breaking_changes", "max": 0, "blocking": true },
{ "metric": "performance_p95_ms", "threshold": 200, "blocking": true },
{ "metric": "security_critical", "max": 0, "blocking": true }
]
}
}
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| OOM during tests | Running all tests in parallel | Use batched execution |
| Pipeline too slow | Comprehensive testing every commit | Smart test selection |
| Gates always failing | Thresholds too strict | Analyze trends, adjust |
Related Skills
- agentic-quality-engineering - Fleet coordination
- shift-left-testing - Early defect detection
- shift-right-testing - Production monitoring
- chaos-engineering-resilience - Resilience testing
Remember
The CI/CD Pipeline QE Orchestrator provides:
- Phase-based strategy with optimal skill/agent selection
- Quality gates that block bad deployments
- Adaptive strategy based on risk and context
- Full fleet coordination through memory namespaces
With Agents: Use qe-fleet-commander for multi-agent orchestration. Coordinate through aqe/* memory namespace. Batch operations for efficiency.
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