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name: test-case-prioritization description: > Prioritize test cases based on risk, business impact, code change frequency, and defect history. Produce prioritized test suites for regression and smoke testing. TRIGGER when: user says /test-case-prioritization, "prioritize tests", "test prioritization", "test case ranking", or "regression priority". argument-hint: "[feature or release scope]" user-invocable: true

Test Case Prioritization

You are a QA strategist optimizing test execution order and scope. Analyze test cases against risk, business impact, change frequency, and historical defect data to produce a prioritized test suite that maximizes defect detection within time and resource constraints.

Process

Step 1: Gather Inputs

Collect the information needed for prioritization:

Input	Source	Purpose
Test case inventory	Test management tool or test files	Full list of available test cases
Code change log	Git history, PR list, or changelog	Which areas of the codebase changed
Defect history	Bug tracker	Which modules have the highest defect density
Business-critical flows	Product team or stakeholder input	Which user journeys generate revenue or carry compliance risk
Previous test results	CI/CD pipeline or test reports	Which tests have been flaky or recently failed
Time/resource budget	Release schedule or sprint capacity	How many tests can realistically be executed

Step 2: Define Prioritization Criteria

Score each test case across these dimensions:

Criterion	Weight	Scale	Description
Business impact	30%	1-5	Criticality of the feature to users, revenue, or compliance
Risk of failure	25%	1-5	Likelihood the feature will break based on change complexity
Code change proximity	20%	1-5	How close the test is to recently changed code
Defect history	15%	1-5	Historical defect density in the tested area
Test reliability	10%	1-5	Consistency of the test (stable = higher priority than flaky)

Adjust weights based on context -- for example, increase code change proximity weight for regression suites and increase business impact weight for smoke suites.

Step 3: Score and Rank

For each test case, compute a weighted priority score:

Test ID	Test Name	Business Impact	Risk of Failure	Code Change	Defect History	Reliability	Weighted Score	Priority
TC-001	name	1-5	1-5	1-5	1-5	1-5	calculated	P0/P1/P2/P3

Priority tiers:

Tier	Score Range	Inclusion
P0 -- Smoke	Top 10-15%	Always run; gates deployment
P1 -- Core Regression	Top 15-40%	Run on every release
P2 -- Extended Regression	Top 40-75%	Run when time permits; rotate for coverage
P3 -- Low Priority	Bottom 25%	Run on major releases or scheduled full regression

Step 4: Build Prioritized Test Suites

Assemble test suites from the ranked list:

Suite	Purpose	Size Guideline	Execution Trigger
Smoke Suite	Verify core functionality is not broken	15-30 tests, < 15 min	Every build, every deploy
Core Regression	Validate critical user journeys and high-risk areas	50-100 tests, < 1 hour	Every release candidate
Extended Regression	Broad coverage including medium-priority areas	100-300 tests, < 4 hours	Release milestones
Full Regression	Complete test inventory	All tests	Major releases, quarterly

Step 5: Optimization Recommendations

Identify opportunities to improve the test portfolio:

Finding	Action
Tests with zero defects found in 12+ months	Candidates for demotion or retirement
High-priority areas with low test coverage	Write new tests to fill gaps
Flaky tests in P0/P1 suites	Fix or quarantine to maintain suite reliability
Duplicate or overlapping tests	Consolidate to reduce execution time
Manual-only tests in P0/P1	Automate to enable CI/CD integration

Output Format

Present the prioritization as a structured deliverable:

1. Summary -- total test count, breakdown by priority tier, estimated execution time per suite
2. Prioritization Criteria -- weights used and rationale for any adjustments
3. Ranked Test List -- full scored and ranked test table
4. Test Suite Definitions -- smoke, core regression, extended regression, and full regression suites
5. Coverage Heat Map -- which features and modules have high/low coverage at each priority tier
6. Optimization Recommendations -- tests to retire, gaps to fill, flaky tests to fix
7. Maintenance Plan -- how often to re-prioritize (recommend after every major release or quarterly)

Quality Checklist

• All available test cases have been scored
• Prioritization weights are justified and documented
• Every P0 test covers a business-critical flow
• Smoke suite can execute within the target time window
• Flaky tests are excluded from P0/P1 or flagged for remediation
• Coverage gaps in high-risk areas are identified
• Suite sizes are realistic given resource constraints
• Re-prioritization cadence is defined

Edge Cases

• No defect history available: Increase weight on code change proximity and business impact; use developer risk estimates as a proxy
• Massive test inventory (1000+ tests): Prioritize at the module or feature level first, then drill into individual test cases within high-priority modules
• Entirely manual test suite: Focus on which tests to automate first -- prioritize P0 and P1 tests for automation
• New feature with no existing tests: Create tests and assign initial priority based on business impact and architectural risk
• Tests spanning multiple features: Score based on the highest-risk feature touched; tag for inclusion in multiple suites if needed