Test Harness Pattern Learning Lab
Purpose: Safe sandbox for learning and building phased workflow skills with strict validation.
What's Inside
Reference Implementation
schema-optimization/ - Complete 5-phase workflow skill system
- Orchestrator that creates session directories, spawns phases, validates outputs
- 5 phase agents with strict JSON contracts
- Reference instruction docs
- Real verification script
- Sample outputs
Learning Guides
- GUIDE-00-START-HERE.md - Introduction (5 min)
- GUIDE-01-PATTERN-EXPLAINED.md - Architecture (15 min)
- GUIDE-02-BUILDING-YOUR-OWN.md - Build your own (30 min)
- GUIDE-03-DEBUGGING-TIPS.md - Debugging (15 min)
- ORCHESTRATION-PATTERN.md - Complete reference (60 min)
Why This Pattern Matters
Traditional LLM workflows are fragile. The test harness pattern solves this with:
- Agent MUST produce file artifact (evidence)
- Agent MUST return strict JSON (machine-checkable)
- Orchestrator validates before continuing
- Each phase builds on validated prior work
- Failure points are clear and debuggable
Design Principles
- Evidence-Based: Every phase writes a file
- Machine-Checkable: JSON outputs validated programmatically
- Fail-Fast: Orchestrator stops on first validation failure
- Composable: Phases are independent, reusable
- Debuggable: Clear failure points
- Repeatable: Same inputs = same outputs