DAA Framework Architect

REQUIRED BACKGROUND: You MUST understand daa:daa-core before using this skill.

Overview

Use this skill when starting a new E2E automation project, restructuring an existing test suite, or scaling an automation framework. It provides project structure templates and advanced patterns for growing test suites.

When to Use

• New project: Scaffolding directory structure for a DAA-compliant framework
• Migration: Converting POM or flat scripts to DAA three-layer architecture
• Scaling: Test suite growing from 50 → 500+ scenarios; need structured abstraction

Project Scaffold

A DAA-compliant project separates the three layers in the directory structure:

project/
├── lib/                          # Framework code (Action + Physical layers)
│   ├── api/                      # API testing support
│   │   ├── action_layer.py       # Action Layer: API business actions
│   │   └── physical_layer.py     # Physical Layer: HTTP client wrapper
│   ├── web/                      # Web/UI testing support
│   │   ├── action_layer.py       # Action Layer: UI business actions
│   │   ├── physical_layer.py     # Physical Layer: browser driver wrapper
│   │   └── constants.py          # UI selectors and URLs
│   └── __init__.py
├── tests/                        # Test Layer
│   ├── api/
│   │   ├── test_crud.py          # API test scenarios
│   │   └── test_workflows.py     # API composite workflow tests
│   ├── web/
│   │   └── test_search.py        # Web test scenarios
│   └── conftest.py               # Test fixtures and configuration
├── config/                       # Environment configuration
├── requirements.txt              # Dependencies
└── README.md

→ Full template with explanations: project-scaffold.md

Scaling Decision Tree

When Action Layer complexity grows, apply the appropriate design pattern:

digraph scaling {
    rankdir=TB;
    "Action Layer growing complex?" [shape=diamond];
    "Too many parameters?" [shape=diamond];
    "API interface mismatch?" [shape=diamond];
    "If/else branching?" [shape=diamond];
    "Sequential pipeline?" [shape=diamond];
    "Apply Builder Pattern" [shape=box];
    "Apply Adapter Pattern" [shape=box];
    "Apply Strategy Pattern" [shape=box];
    "Apply Chain Pattern" [shape=box];
    "Extract Composite Action" [shape=box];

    "Action Layer growing complex?" -> "Too many parameters?" [label="yes"];
    "Action Layer growing complex?" -> "Extract Composite Action" [label="no, just repetition"];
    "Too many parameters?" -> "Apply Builder Pattern" [label="yes"];
    "Too many parameters?" -> "API interface mismatch?" [label="no"];
    "API interface mismatch?" -> "Apply Adapter Pattern" [label="yes"];
    "API interface mismatch?" -> "If/else branching?" [label="no"];
    "If/else branching?" -> "Apply Strategy Pattern" [label="yes"];
    "If/else branching?" -> "Sequential pipeline?" [label="no"];
    "Sequential pipeline?" -> "Apply Chain Pattern" [label="yes"];
}

→ Full pattern details: scaling-patterns.md

Technology-Agnostic Design Checklist

Before finalizing a framework design, verify:

• Three layers clearly separated in directory structure (not mixed in one folder)
• Physical Layer is swappable — can change from Selenium to Playwright by replacing only Physical Layer files
• Action Layer is test-framework agnostic — actions work regardless of pytest, JUnit, TestNG, etc.
• Selectors are centralized — UI selectors live in a constants file, not scattered across code
• Fixtures/setup are isolated — test configuration (conftest, base classes) doesn't contain business logic
• Dependencies flow downward — Test → Action → Physical, never upward

Migration from Page Object Model

When converting existing POM code to DAA:

1. Identify selectors/locators in Page Objects → move to Physical Layer (or constants)
2. Extract business logic and assertions from Page Objects → move to Action Layer
3. Simplify test files to pure declarative calls → Test Layer
4. Verify no test file imports Page Objects or Physical Layer directly
5. Add self-verification to every Action method (the step most POM code is missing)