qcsd-cicd-swarm
Use when enforcing CI/CD quality gates before release, running regression analysis, detecting flaky tests, or assessing deployment readiness in the QCSD Verification phase.
What this skill does
# QCSD CI/CD Swarm v1.0
Shift-left quality engineering swarm for CI/CD pipeline verification and release readiness.
---
## Overview
The CI/CD Swarm takes code that passed Development quality checks and validates it is
safe to release through the CI/CD pipeline. Where the Development Swarm asks "Is the
code quality sufficient to ship?", the CI/CD Swarm asks "Is this change safe to release?"
This swarm operates at the pipeline level, analyzing test results, regression risk,
flaky test impact, security pipeline status, and infrastructure changes to render
a RELEASE / REMEDIATE / BLOCK decision.
### QCSD Phase Positioning
| Phase | Swarm | Decision | When |
|-------|-------|----------|------|
| Ideation | qcsd-ideation-swarm | GO / CONDITIONAL / NO-GO | PI/Sprint Planning |
| Refinement | qcsd-refinement-swarm | READY / CONDITIONAL / NOT-READY | Sprint Refinement |
| Development | qcsd-development-swarm | SHIP / CONDITIONAL / HOLD | During Sprint |
| **Verification** | **qcsd-cicd-swarm** | **RELEASE / REMEDIATE / BLOCK** | **Pre-Release / CI-CD** |
| Production | qcsd-production-swarm | HEALTHY / DEGRADED / CRITICAL | Post-Release |
### Parameters
- `PIPELINE_ARTIFACTS`: Path to CI/CD artifacts, test results, and build output (required, e.g., `ci/artifacts/`)
- `BASELINE_REF`: Git ref for baseline comparison (optional, default: `main`)
- `OUTPUT_FOLDER`: Where to save reports (default: `${PROJECT_ROOT}/Agentic QCSD/cicd/`)
- `DEPLOY_TARGET`: Target deployment environment (optional, e.g., `staging`, `production`)
---
## ENFORCEMENT RULES - READ FIRST
| Rule | Enforcement |
|------|-------------|
| **E1** | You MUST spawn ALL THREE core agents (qe-quality-gate, qe-regression-analyzer, qe-flaky-hunter) in Step 2. No exceptions. |
| **E2** | You MUST put all parallel Task calls in a SINGLE message. |
| **E3** | You MUST STOP and WAIT after each batch. No proceeding early. |
| **E4** | You MUST spawn conditional agents if flags are TRUE. No skipping. |
| **E5** | You MUST apply RELEASE/REMEDIATE/BLOCK logic exactly as specified in Step 5. |
| **E6** | You MUST generate the full report structure. No abbreviated versions. |
| **E7** | Each agent MUST read its reference files before analysis. |
| **E8** | You MUST apply qe-deployment-advisor analysis on ALL pipeline data in Step 8. Always. |
| **E9** | You MUST execute Step 7 learning persistence. No skipping. |
**PROHIBITED BEHAVIORS:**
- Summarizing instead of spawning agents
- Skipping agents "for brevity"
- Proceeding before background tasks complete
- Providing your own analysis instead of spawning specialists
- Omitting report sections or using placeholder text
---
## Step Execution Protocol
This skill uses a micro-file step architecture. Each step is a self-contained file
loaded one at a time to avoid "lost in the middle" context degradation.
**Execute steps sequentially by reading each step file with the Read tool.**
### Steps
1. **Flag Detection** -- `steps/01-flag-detection.md` -- Scan pipeline artifacts, detect all 6 flags
2. **Core Agents** -- `steps/02-core-agents.md` -- Spawn qe-quality-gate, qe-regression-analyzer, qe-flaky-hunter in parallel
3. **Batch 1 Results** -- `steps/03-batch1-results.md` -- Wait for core agents, extract all metrics
4. **Conditional Agents** -- `steps/04-conditional-agents.md` -- Spawn flagged conditional agents in parallel
5. **Decision Synthesis** -- `steps/05-decision-synthesis.md` -- Apply RELEASE/REMEDIATE/BLOCK logic
6. **Report Generation** -- `steps/06-report-generation.md` -- Generate executive summary and full report
7. **Learning Persistence** -- `steps/07-learning-persistence.md` -- Store findings to memory, save persistence record
8. **Deployment Advisor** -- `steps/08-deployment-advisor.md` -- Run qe-deployment-advisor analysis on all pipeline data
9. **Final Output** -- `steps/09-final-output.md` -- Display completion summary with all scores
### Execution Instructions
1. Use the Read tool to load the current step file (e.g., `Read({ file_path: ".claude/skills/qcsd-cicd-swarm/steps/01-flag-detection.md" })`)
2. Execute the step's instructions completely
3. Verify all success criteria are met before proceeding
4. Pass the step's output as context to the next step
5. If a step fails, halt and report the failure point -- do not skip ahead
### Resume Support
To resume from a specific step: specify `--from-step N` and the orchestrator will
skip to step N. Ensure you have the required prerequisite data from prior steps.
---
## Agent Inventory
| Agent | Type | Domain | Batch |
|-------|------|--------|-------|
| qe-quality-gate | Core (always) | quality-assessment | 1 |
| qe-regression-analyzer | Core (always) | test-execution | 1 |
| qe-flaky-hunter | Core (always) | test-execution | 1 |
| qe-security-scanner | Conditional (HAS_SECURITY_PIPELINE) | security-compliance | 2 |
| qe-chaos-engineer | Conditional (HAS_INFRA_CHANGE) | chaos-resilience | 2 |
| qe-coverage-specialist | Conditional (HAS_PERFORMANCE_PIPELINE) | coverage-analysis | 2 |
| qe-middleware-validator | Conditional (HAS_MIDDLEWARE) | enterprise-integration | 2 |
| qe-soap-tester | Conditional (HAS_SAP_INTEGRATION) | enterprise-integration | 2 |
| qe-sod-analyzer | Conditional (HAS_AUTHORIZATION) | enterprise-integration | 2 |
| qe-deployment-advisor | Analysis (always) | quality-assessment | 3 |
**Total: 10 agents (3 core + 6 conditional + 1 analysis)**
---
## Quality Gate Thresholds
| Metric | RELEASE | REMEDIATE | BLOCK |
|--------|---------|-----------|-------|
| Test Pass Rate | >= 99% | 95 - 98.9% | < 95% |
| Regression Count | 0 | 1-3 (P2/P3) | Any P0/P1 |
| Flaky Test Rate | < 2% | 2 - 5% | > 5% |
| Quality Gate | ALL PASS | WARN gates only | ANY FAIL gate |
| Security Scan | No HIGH/CRITICAL | MEDIUM only | HIGH/CRITICAL found |
| Coverage Delta | >= 0% | -1% to -5% | < -5% |
---
## Report Filename Mapping
| Agent | Report Filename | Step |
|-------|----------------|------|
| qe-quality-gate | `02-quality-gates.md` | 2 |
| qe-regression-analyzer | `03-regression-analysis.md` | 2 |
| qe-flaky-hunter | `04-flaky-test-analysis.md` | 2 |
| qe-security-scanner | `05-security-scan.md` | 4 |
| qe-chaos-engineer | `06-chaos-resilience.md` | 4 |
| qe-coverage-specialist | `07-coverage-analysis.md` | 4 |
| qe-middleware-validator | `08-middleware-health.md` | 4 |
| qe-soap-tester | `09-soap-contracts.md` | 4 |
| qe-sod-analyzer | `10-sod-compliance.md` | 4 |
| Learning Persistence | `11-learning-persistence.json` | 7 |
| qe-deployment-advisor | `12-deployment-advisory.md` | 8 |
| Synthesis | `01-executive-summary.md` | 6 |
---
## Execution Model Options
| Model | When to Use | Agent Spawn |
|-------|-------------|-------------|
| **Task Tool** (PRIMARY) | Claude Code sessions | `Task({ subagent_type, run_in_background: true })` |
| **MCP Tools** | MCP server available | `fleet_init({})` / `task_submit({})` |
| **CLI** | Terminal/scripts | `swarm init` / `agent spawn` |
---
## Key Principle
**Release safety is verified by evidence, not assumptions. This swarm provides
pipeline-level quality assessment to ensure every release meets quality gates.**
Related in qcsd-phases
qcsd-production-swarm
IncludedUse when assessing post-release production health with DORA metrics, root cause analysis, defect prediction, or cross-phase feedback loops in the QCSD Production phase.
qcsd-refinement-swarm
IncludedUse when running Sprint Refinement sessions with SFDIPOT product factors, generating BDD scenarios, or validating requirements in the QCSD Refinement phase.
qcsd-ideation-swarm
IncludedUse when running Quality Criteria sessions during PI/Sprint planning with HTSM v6.3, Risk Storming, or Testability analysis in the QCSD Ideation phase.
qcsd-development-swarm
IncludedUse when monitoring in-sprint code quality with TDD adherence checks, complexity analysis, coverage gap detection, or defect prediction in the QCSD Development phase.