Static testing, analysis & design

/qa:static-review

ISTQB static testing of the test basis

Review a story, spec or API spec for testability and defects before any tests are written — shift-left review findings; source-code analysis is routed to static-analysis.

USAGE/qa:static-review <story / spec / file to review> [informal|walkthrough|technical|inspection]
Static testing, analysis & designCTFL v4.0 §3 · CTAL-TTAManual

What it does

Reviews the test basis (requirements, user stories, acceptance criteria, OpenAPI spec) for testability, completeness, consistency and clarity, and returns a Review Report of findings; it writes no files and modifies no test object.

When to use it

Before writing tests for a story/spec, to find requirement defects while they are cheapest to fix (Principle 3).

Prerequisites

qa.config.yml (risk_areas drives subject selection); a test-basis item (story/spec/file) or empty to default to risk_areas.critical.

Output

ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119-3 Review Report (review findings), returned inline (no file written).

Mechanics

How it works

  1. Read config; establish subject and select review type by hint or risk tier
  2. Review the test basis for testability, completeness, consistency, correctness & clarity
  3. Review the API spec for gaps that weaken contract/API tests
  4. Route any source-code static analysis to /qa:static-analysis (out of scope here)
  5. Produce the Review Report as a findings table ordered by severity, with counts per type and severity

Why it works

The theory behind it

Static testing (CTFL v4.0 §3): reviewing the basis realizes Principle 3 (early testing) — a defect found in the requirement never becomes a defect in code. Formality scales from informal review to inspection. Principle 1: shows presence of defects, not absence.

CTFL v4.0 §3 · CTAL-TTA

Example

See it in use

static-review
> /qa:static-review "docs/stories/guest-checkout.md" walkthrough

✓ Correct when It lists testability issues/ambiguities in the story (the test basis) before any tests are written, ordered by severity with counts per type.