Nw test refactoring catalog

Skill nWave-ai/nWave/plugins/nw/skills/nw-test-refactoring-catalog

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Detailed refactoring mechanics with step-by-step procedures, and test code smell catalog with detection patterns and before/after examples

SKILL.md

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Test Refactoring Catalog

Test Code Smells (Full Detail)

L1 Readability Smells

Obscure Test

Problem: test name does not reveal business scenario being tested
Detection: generic names like Test1(), ProcessOrderTest(), or names requiring reading test body to understand
Solution: rename to Given_When_Then or should_do_expected_thing_when_condition format

Before: public void Test1() { /* ... */ }
After:  public void ProcessOrder_PremiumCustomer_AppliesCorrectDiscount() { /* ... */ }

Hard-Coded Test Data

Problem: magic numbers and strings obscure business rules being tested
Detection: numbers like 1000, 0.15, strings without explanation
Solution: extract to named constants that reveal business meaning

Before: Assert.Equal(850, result.Total);  // What discount?
After:  const decimal EXPECTED_TOTAL = 1000 * (1 - 0.15m);
        Assert.Equal(EXPECTED_TOTAL, result.Total);

Assertion Roulette

Problem: multiple assertions without messages make failures unclear
Detection: multiple Assert.* calls without message parameter
Solution: add descriptive message to each assertion explaining expected business outcome

L2 Complexity Smells

Eager Test

Problem: single test verifies multiple unrelated behaviors
Detection: multiple arrange/act/assert cycles or assertions testing different concerns
Solution: split into focused tests, one per business scenario

Before: ProcessOrderTest() { /* tests discount AND shipping AND tax */ }
After:  ProcessOrder_AppliesDiscount()
        ProcessOrder_CalculatesShipping()
        ProcessOrder_CalculatesTax()

Prefer parameterized tests for variations of the same behavior.

Test Code Duplication

Problem: repeated test setup logic across multiple tests
Detection: same object creation, mock setup, or data builders copied in 3+ tests
Solution: extract helper methods

Extract: CreatePremiumCustomer(), CreateHighValueOrder()

Conditional Test Logic

Problem: if/switch statements in test code make tests non-deterministic
Detection: if, switch, for loops in test methods
Solution: replace with parameterized tests

# Before: if/else in test
# After:
@pytest.mark.parametrize("input,expected", [...])
def test_behavior(input, expected): ...

L3 Organization Smells

Mystery Guest

Problem: test depends on external files or hidden dependencies
Detection: File.ReadAllText, database queries, external config in tests
Solution: inline test data or make dependency explicit in test setup

Test Class Bloat

Problem: single test class contains tests for multiple unrelated concerns
Detection: test class with 15+ tests covering different features
Solution: split by feature

Before: UserServiceTests (31 tests)
After:  UserAuthTests, UserProfileTests, UserNotificationTests

General Fixture

Problem: shared fixture used by tests with different needs
Detection: SetUp method creates data used by only some tests
Solution: move to per-test setup methods or test-specific fixtures

For production code refactoring techniques and mechanics, load the progressive-refactoring skill.