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Squad currently provides strong coverage for developer-facing testing through Hockney (unit/quality-gate testing), Breedan (E2E test automation with node-pty/Gherkin), and Waingro (adversarial dogfooding). However, there is a gap in the team composition: none of these agents approach testing from the end-user's perspective — the way a dedicated UAT or beta tester would validate that a feature actually meets business requirements and delivers the expected user experience across target platforms.
I'd like to propose a new agent role: a UAT / Beta Tester Agent whose charter is focused on user acceptance testing of the software the Squad team is building.
What This Agent Would Do
Platform-aware acceptance testing: Validate the built software across its target platforms (web, mobile, desktop, API) based on context from the solution or as specified by the user. This includes responsive behavior, platform-specific UX conventions, and cross-browser/cross-device consistency.
Requirements-to-test tracing: Read feature specs, user stories, or acceptance criteria (from issues, PRs, or shared decisions in decisions.md) and generate structured UAT test plans that trace back to each requirement — ensuring nothing is missed before a feature is considered "done."
Exploratory testing from a user lens: Go beyond scripted tests to simulate real end-user workflows — multi-step journeys, edge-case inputs, accessibility paths, and error recovery flows — documenting findings in a structured format.
UAT artifacts and sign-off reports: Produce test plans, test execution logs, defect reports, and UAT sign-off summaries that can be committed to .squad/ or attached to issues/PRs, giving the team (and the Lead) clear visibility into acceptance status.
Regression validation: After bug fixes or refactors, re-run relevant acceptance scenarios to confirm the user-facing behavior is preserved. How It Differs from Existing Agents
Agent
Focus
Gap Addressed
Hockney (Tester)
Unit tests, code coverage, CI quality gates
Does not validate user-facing behavior or business requirements
Breedan (E2E Test Engineer)
Automated E2E with node-pty harness, Gherkin features
Focused on automation infrastructure, not exploratory or acceptance testing
Waingro (Product Dogfooder)
Adversarial/edge-case testing of Squad itself
Tests Squad the tool, not the user's built software
Proposed UAT Agent
End-user acceptance testing of the built software
Bridges the gap between "tests pass" and "the user can actually use this"
Routing Suggestion
{ pattern: 'uat-acceptance', agents: ['@<name>'], description: 'UAT test plans, acceptance criteria validation, platform-specific user testing, sign-off reports' }
Why This Matters
In real development teams, UAT is often the last gate before release — and it is where mismatches between developer assumptions and user expectations surface. With Squad enabling parallel agent work, a UAT agent could begin writing acceptance test plans as soon as requirements are established, and validate deliverables as they land — without blocking other agents. This closes the loop between "code complete" and "ready for users."
I'd love to hear thoughts from the maintainers and community on whether this fits Squad's roadmap, and whether this should be a built-in template role or a community-contributed agent charter.
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Summary
Squad currently provides strong coverage for developer-facing testing through Hockney (unit/quality-gate testing), Breedan (E2E test automation with node-pty/Gherkin), and Waingro (adversarial dogfooding). However, there is a gap in the team composition: none of these agents approach testing from the end-user's perspective — the way a dedicated UAT or beta tester would validate that a feature actually meets business requirements and delivers the expected user experience across target platforms.
I'd like to propose a new agent role: a UAT / Beta Tester Agent whose charter is focused on user acceptance testing of the software the Squad team is building.
What This Agent Would Do
decisions.md) and generate structured UAT test plans that trace back to each requirement — ensuring nothing is missed before a feature is considered "done.".squad/or attached to issues/PRs, giving the team (and the Lead) clear visibility into acceptance status.How It Differs from Existing Agents
Routing Suggestion
Why This Matters
In real development teams, UAT is often the last gate before release — and it is where mismatches between developer assumptions and user expectations surface. With Squad enabling parallel agent work, a UAT agent could begin writing acceptance test plans as soon as requirements are established, and validate deliverables as they land — without blocking other agents. This closes the loop between "code complete" and "ready for users."
I'd love to hear thoughts from the maintainers and community on whether this fits Squad's roadmap, and whether this should be a built-in template role or a community-contributed agent charter.
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