How to Learn Testing with TEA Academy

How to Learn Testing with TEA Academy

Use TEA’s teach-me-testing workflow (TEA Academy) to learn testing progressively through 7 structured sessions. Designed for self-paced learning over 1-2 weeks with automatic progress tracking.

When to Use This

• New QA engineers: Complete onboarding in testing fundamentals
• Developers: Learn testing from an integration perspective
• Team leads: Understand architecture patterns and team practices
• VPs/Managers: Grasp testing strategy and quality metrics
• Anyone: Who wants to learn testing without requiring an instructor

Perfect for:

• Company onboarding (new QAs complete in 1-2 weeks)
• Self-paced learning (pause and resume anytime)
• Non-linear exploration (jump to any session based on experience)
• Building testing knowledge that scales

What You’ll Learn

7 Progressive Sessions

1. Quick Start (30 min) - TEA Lite intro, understand engagement models
2. Core Concepts (45 min) - Risk-based testing (P0-P3), Definition of Done
3. Architecture & Patterns (60 min) - Fixtures, network-first patterns, data factories
4. Test Design (60 min) - Risk assessment and coverage planning workflow
5. ATDD & Automate (60 min) - TDD red-green approach, test generation
6. Quality & Trace (45 min) - Test review (5 dimensions), requirements traceability
7. Advanced Patterns (ongoing) - Explore 34 knowledge fragments on-demand

What You’ll Gain

• ✅ Testing fundamentals (risk-based, test pyramid, types)
• ✅ TEA methodology (9 workflows, architecture patterns)
• ✅ Practical skills (write your first good test)
• ✅ Knowledge artifacts (session notes, completion certificate)
• ✅ Confidence to apply TEA to your project

Prerequisites

• BMad Method installed with TEA module
• Access to TEA documentation and knowledge base
• 30-90 minutes per session (can pause and resume)
• Willingness to learn progressively over 1-2 weeks

How It Works

Starting Fresh

Start a fresh chat and load TEA:

tea

Then select Teach Me Testing:

TMT

Or directly:

teach-me-testing

Initial Assessment

The workflow will ask about:

• Your role: QA, Dev, Lead, or VP (customizes examples)
• Experience level: Beginner, intermediate, or experienced
• Learning goals: What you want to achieve
• Pain points: (Optional) Current testing challenges

Session Menu (The Hub)

After assessment, you’ll see a menu of all 7 sessions with:

• ✅ Completed sessions (with scores)
• 🔄 In-progress sessions
• ⬜ Not-started sessions
• Completion percentage
• Recommended next session

Jump to any session - You’re not locked into a linear path!

Session Flow

Each session follows this pattern:

1. Teaching - Concepts presented with role-adapted examples
2. Quiz - 3 questions to validate understanding (≥70% to pass)
3. Session Notes - Artifact generated with key takeaways
4. Progress Update - Automatic save (can pause anytime)
5. Return to Menu - Choose next session or exit

Progress Tracking

Your progress is automatically saved:

• Progress file: {test_artifacts}/teaching-progress/{your-name}-tea-progress.yaml
• Session notes: {test_artifacts}/tea-academy/{your-name}/session-{N}-notes.md
• Certificate: {test_artifacts}/tea-academy/{your-name}/tea-completion-certificate.md (after all 7 sessions)

Resuming Later

Simply run the workflow again - it automatically detects your progress and shows where you left off.

Learning Paths by Experience

Beginners (New to Testing)

Recommended path: Sessions 1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6 → 7

Start at Session 1 and work through sequentially. Each session builds on previous concepts.

Time commitment: 1-2 weeks (30-90 min per session)

Intermediate (Have Written Tests)

Recommended path: Sessions 1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6 → 7

You might breeze through Sessions 1-2 and focus on 3-6.

Time commitment: 1 week (can skip familiar topics)

Experienced (Strong Testing Background)

Recommended path: Jump to Sessions 3, 4, 7

Skip fundamentals, focus on:

• Session 3: TEA architecture patterns
• Session 4: Test Design workflow
• Session 7: Advanced patterns (34 knowledge fragments)

Time commitment: 3-4 hours (highly targeted)

Session Details

Session 1: Quick Start (30 min)

Topics:

• What is TEA and why it exists
• TEA Lite approach (30-minute value)
• Engagement models (Lite/Solo/Integrated/Enterprise/Brownfield)
• Automate workflow overview

Resources: TEA Overview, TEA Lite Quickstart, Automate Workflow docs

Session 2: Core Concepts (45 min)

Topics:

• Testing as engineering philosophy
• Risk-based testing (P0-P3 matrix)
• Probability × Impact scoring
• Definition of Done (7 quality principles)

Resources: Testing as Engineering, Risk-Based Testing, Test Quality Standards docs Knowledge Fragments: test-quality.md, probability-impact.md

Session 3: Architecture & Patterns (60 min)

Topics:

• Fixture composition patterns
• Network-first patterns (prevent race conditions)
• Data factories
• Step-file architecture (the pattern this workflow uses!)

Resources: Fixture Architecture, Network-First Patterns, Step-File Architecture docs Knowledge Fragments: fixture-architecture.md, network-first.md, data-factories.md

Session 4: Test Design (60 min)

Topics:

• Test Design workflow
• Risk/testability assessment
• Coverage planning (unit/integration/E2E)
• Test priorities matrix (P0-P3 coverage targets)

Resources: Test Design workflow docs Knowledge Fragments: test-levels-framework.md, test-priorities-matrix.md

Session 5: ATDD & Automate (60 min)

Topics:

• ATDD workflow (failing tests first)
• TDD red-green-refactor loop
• Automate workflow (coverage expansion)
• API testing patterns

Resources: ATDD, Automate workflow docs Knowledge Fragments: component-tdd.md, api-testing-patterns.md, api-request.md

Session 6: Quality & Trace (45 min)

Topics:

• Test Review workflow (5 dimensions: determinism, isolation, maintainability, coverage, performance)
• Trace workflow (requirements traceability)
• Quality metrics that matter (P0/P1 coverage vs vanity metrics)
• Release gate decisions

Resources: Test Review, Trace workflow docs

Session 7: Advanced Patterns (Ongoing)

Topics:

• Menu-driven exploration of 34 knowledge fragments
• 5 categories: Testing Patterns, Playwright Utils, Configuration & Governance, Quality Frameworks, Auth & Security
• Deep-dive into specific patterns as needed
• GitHub links for browsing source

Resources: All 34 knowledge fragments GitHub: Knowledge Base Repository

Completion Certificate

Complete all 7 sessions to receive your TEA Academy completion certificate with:

• Session completion dates and scores
• Average score across all sessions
• Skills acquired checklist
• Learning artifacts paths
• Recommended next steps

Tips for Success

1. Set aside dedicated time - Each session requires focus (30-90 min)
2. Take your own notes - Session notes are generated, but add personal insights
3. Apply immediately - Practice concepts on your current project
4. Explore fragments - Session 7 has 34 fragments for deep-dive topics
5. Share with team - Help others learn by sharing your experience
6. Don’t rush - Learning takes time, pause and resume as needed

Role-Based Customization

The workflow adapts examples based on your role:

QA Engineers: Practical testing focus, workflow usage, coverage expansion Developers: Integration perspective, TDD approach, API testing Tech Leads: Architecture decisions, team patterns, code review standards VPs/Managers: Strategy, ROI, quality metrics, team scaling

Troubleshooting

Progress file not found

If you’ve run the workflow before but it doesn’t detect your progress:

• Check: {test_artifacts}/teaching-progress/{your-name}-tea-progress.yaml
• Workflow auto-creates on first run

Quiz failing repeatedly

If scoring <70% on quizzes:

• Select [R] to review content again
• Or select [C] to continue (score recorded, you can retake later)

Want to restart from scratch

Delete your progress file to start fresh:

rm {test_artifacts}/teaching-progress/{your-name}-tea-progress.yaml

Related Workflows

After completing TEA Academy, you’re ready to use:

• Framework - Set up test framework
• Test Design - Plan test coverage
• ATDD - Generate failing tests first
• Automate - Expand test coverage
• Test Review - Audit test quality
• Trace - Requirements traceability

Additional Resources

• Documentation: TEA Overview
• Knowledge Base: Knowledge Base Reference
• GitHub Fragments: Knowledge Base Repository

Support

Questions or issues? See Troubleshooting or file an issue on the GitHub repository.