Merge pull request #63 from Curabis/rule/given-blocks-must-cover-full-precondition-chain

[BCQuality] GIVEN blocks must cover the full precondition chain for posting/report tests

custom/knowledge/testing/given-blocks-must-cover-full-precondition-chain.md

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+---
+bc-version: [all]
+domain: testing
+keywords: [given, test-setup, posting, report, request-page, precondition, dataset, completeness]
+technologies: [al]
+countries: [w1]
+application-area: [all]
+---
+
+# GIVEN blocks must cover the full precondition chain, not just the primary record
+
+## Description
+
+A `[GIVEN]` block ([[test-feature-scenario-tags]]) is only correct if it sets
+up every precondition the code under test actually reads — not just the one
+record the scenario is "about." For most master-data tests, creating the
+primary record is enough. For **posting routines** and **reports**, it
+usually is not, and an incomplete `[GIVEN]` produces a test that passes for
+the wrong reason (it never truly exercises the logic being claimed) or
+fails with an unrelated setup error that has nothing to do with the
+scenario.
+
+Observed repeatedly across CURABIS AL projects (2026-08): AI-written test
+cases for posting and report scenarios create the primary document or
+record but skip the setup records the posting/report logic silently
+depends on, producing tests that either don't compile against a clean
+company, or that "pass" without ever reaching the assertion the scenario
+claims to prove.
+
+## Posting Scenarios
+
+A `[GIVEN]` block feeding a posting routine must account for:
+- The posting-relevant setup records the routine reads (e.g. `Sales &
+  Receivables Setup`, `General Ledger Setup`, `Inventory Setup`) —
+  whichever ones the specific posting path touches.
+- Number series, or an explicitly assigned document number if number
+  series aren't part of the scenario.
+- The full posting-group chain the document requires (e.g. Customer
+  Posting Group + Gen. Business/Product Posting Group + VAT Posting
+  Setup combination) — a missing link here fails with a G/L-account error
+  that has nothing to do with what the test claims to verify.
+- Dimension defaults, if the scenario's data flow requires them (see
+  [[dimension-support-must-follow-dimensionmanagement-wiring-pattern]]).
+- An explicit date (not an implicit reliance on the sandbox's current
+  system date) when the posting path is date-sensitive.
+
+## Report Scenarios
+
+A `[GIVEN]` block feeding a report test must include **both** a record
+that should be included by the report's filters/dataset, **and** a record
+that should be excluded — otherwise the test cannot distinguish "the
+filter works" from "the filter does nothing." Also account for:
+- Request page parameters the report's `OnPreDataItem`/`OnAfterGetRecord`
+  logic branches on — a `[GIVEN]` that never sets a parameter the report
+  reads is testing the report's default behavior only, not the scenario.
+- Any FlowField/calculated data the report's dataset relies on, since
+  those are easy to leave at zero/blank and get a report that "runs" but
+  never touches the logic under test.
+
+## Review Checklist
+
+1. For a posting test: does `[GIVEN]` set up every posting group / setup
+   record the routine will read, or only the primary document?
+2. For a report test: does `[GIVEN]` include at least one record that
+   should be filtered *out*, not only records that should appear?
+3. Does `[GIVEN]` set dates/parameters explicitly wherever the code under
+   test branches on them, rather than relying on sandbox defaults?
+4. If posting or report execution fails with a setup-related error
+   unrelated to the scenario's own claim, that is a `[GIVEN]` gap — fix
+   the precondition, don't work around the error in `[WHEN]`/`[THEN]`.
+
+## Source
+
+Consultant feedback relayed by Michael Dieringer, 2026-08-13: AI-written
+test cases for posting and report scenarios repeatedly under-specify
+`[GIVEN]` conditions, requiring manual correction ("bare spørge den om at
+huske at tænke over GIVEN condition"). Sharpens [[test-feature-scenario-tags]]
+and [[test-setup-must-use-library-codeunit]], which cover comment structure
+and setup centralization but not precondition completeness for these two
+scenario types.