# Test Effectiveness Audit Report

## 1. Executive Verdict

- **Effective with Conditions**
- The suite has strong contract coverage for architecture governance, worker reliability, error taxonomy, evidence append-only semantics, and media safety.
- The largest confidence risk is a placeholder module with eight empty tests that always pass and contribute no regression signal.
- A smaller risk is several exception-path tests that assert only exception type and do not validate envelope/category/detail semantics.

## 2. Contract Coverage Matrix

| Contract | Guarding Tests | Signal Quality | Gap | Action |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Service boundary isolation | `tests/test_service_boundaries.py` | Strong | None | Keep as-is |
| UI boundary isolation | `tests/test_ui_boundaries.py` | Strong | None | Keep as-is |
| Canonical docs/instruction authority + settings parity | `tests/test_meta_contract_guards.py` | Strong | None | Keep as-is |
| Error envelope taxonomy mapping | `tests/api/test_error_responses.py` | Strong | None | Keep as-is |
| Worker non-retriable stop + resilience behavior | `tests/test_worker.py`, `tests/services/test_workflows_reliability.py` | Strong | None | Keep as-is |
| Evidence append-only + candidate promotion invariants | `tests/services/test_v45_candidates.py` | Strong | None | Keep as-is |
| UI/API media path safety | `tests/test_media_path_safety.py`, `tests/ui/test_media_urls.py` | Strong | None | Keep as-is |
| Service base behavior contract | `tests/services/test_service_base.py` | **None (current tests empty)** | **High** | Replace placeholders with real assertions or remove file |

## 3. Weak/Redundant Test Findings

| Finding ID | Location | Why Low-Signal | Risk | Recommendation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| TE-01 | `tests/services/test_service_base.py:6-35` | Contains eight `test_*` functions with docstrings only and no executable assertions. | High: false confidence and inflated pass count. | Replace with real behavior checks against `ServiceBase` session-scope semantics, or delete file until concrete tests exist. |
| TE-02 | `tests/test_engine_registry.py:36-37` | `test_disposing_an_unregistered_url_is_a_noop` asserts only “no exception.” It does not verify registry state invariants before/after call. | Medium: regression may survive if behavior changes silently without raising. | Assert that previously created engine/session-factory instances for other URLs remain unchanged after noop disposal path. |
| TE-03 | `tests/services/test_v45_candidates.py:90-94` | `pytest.raises(CandidatePromotionError)` validates type only; no assertions on message/category/suggestion for user-safe failure semantics. | Low-Med: weaker diagnostics contract protection. | Capture exception and assert critical error metadata fields to strengthen failure-path guarantees. |

## 4. Prune/Strengthen Backlog

| Task ID | Goal | Files | Acceptance Criteria | Validation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| TE-T1 | Eliminate zero-signal placeholder tests | `tests/services/test_service_base.py`, `src/transcription/services/base.py` | No empty `test_*` functions remain; each test has behavior assertions that fail on meaningful `ServiceBase` regressions. | `uv run pytest tests/services/test_service_base.py` |
| TE-T2 | Strengthen noop disposal invariant test | `tests/test_engine_registry.py` | Noop disposal test verifies unaffected URL registries remain intact and disposed URL behavior is unchanged. | `uv run pytest tests/test_engine_registry.py` |
| TE-T3 | Strengthen exception-path semantics checks | `tests/services/test_v45_candidates.py` (and similar raise-only tests where high-value) | Exception tests assert key semantic fields (message/category/suggestion or equivalent domain signal), not only type. | `uv run pytest tests/services/test_v45_candidates.py` |

## 5. Confidence Recommendation

- **Go with Conditions** for test-confidence governance.
- Exit criteria:
  1. Complete TE-T1 (highest priority).
  2. Complete TE-T2.
  3. Apply TE-T3 at least on high-risk service error paths.