DSPEx SIMBA Test Coverage Audit & Recommendations
Date: June 18, 2025
Assessment Scope: Complete review of SIMBA teleprompter test coverage for production readiness
Current Status: ✅ Strong Foundation with key gaps identified
Executive Summary
Current Test Coverage: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very Good (80% comprehensive)
Production Readiness: 🟡 Good Foundation with specific gaps to address
Critical Gaps: AppendRule strategy, Elixact integration, advanced edge cases
The current SIMBA test suite provides an excellent foundation with comprehensive coverage of core algorithms, data structures, and basic integration scenarios. However, several key areas need enhancement for production deployment.
Current Test Coverage Analysis
✅ Strong Coverage Areas
1. Core Algorithm Coverage (85% Complete)
- File:
test/unit/teleprompter/simba_test.exs
- Coverage: Basic SIMBA struct, configuration validation, interface compliance
- File:
test/integration/simba_critical_fixes_integration_test.exs
- Coverage: End-to-end optimization with program selection
- File:
test/integration/simba_example_test.exs
- Coverage: Math QA optimization, performance analysis, algorithmic fidelity
2. Strategy Framework Coverage (80% Complete)
- File:
test/unit/teleprompter/simba/strategy_test.exs
- Coverage: Strategy behavior contracts, interface validation
- File:
test/unit/teleprompter/simba/strategy/append_demo_test.exs
- Coverage: Complete AppendDemo testing including Poisson sampling, quality thresholds
3. Data Structures Coverage (90% Complete)
- File:
test/unit/teleprompter/simba/trajectory_test.exs
- Coverage: Trajectory creation, success evaluation, demo conversion
- File:
test/unit/teleprompter/simba/bucket_test.exs
- Coverage: Bucket statistics, improvement analysis, trajectory grouping
- File:
test/unit/teleprompter/simba/performance_test.exs
- Coverage: Performance tracking, progress calculation, improvement metrics
4. Algorithm Components Coverage (85% Complete)
- File:
test/unit/teleprompter/simba_program_pool_test.exs
- Coverage: Program pool management, pruning logic, winning programs
- File:
test/unit/teleprompter/simba_trajectory_sampling_test.exs
- Coverage: Trajectory sampling with real scores, temperature handling
- File:
test/unit/teleprompter/simba_program_selection_test.exs
- Coverage: Softmax sampling, greedy selection, baseline preservation
5. Stress Testing Coverage (75% Complete)
- File:
test/integration/teleprompter_stress_test.exs
- Coverage: Concurrent execution, demo generation under load
❌ Critical Test Gaps Requiring Implementation
1. HIGH PRIORITY: AppendRule Strategy Tests
Status: ❌ MISSING ENTIRELY
Impact: CRITICAL - No testing for instruction-based optimization
Required Implementation:
# test/unit/teleprompter/simba/strategy/append_rule_test.exs
defmodule DSPEx.Teleprompter.SIMBA.Strategy.AppendRuleTest do
use ExUnit.Case
describe "AppendRule strategy" do
test "generates instruction improvements from trajectory analysis" do
# Test rule generation from successful vs unsuccessful trajectories
end
test "validates applicability requirements" do
# Test strategy applicability based on trajectory variance
end
test "applies instruction improvements to programs" do
# Test program enhancement with generated rules
end
test "handles insufficient trajectory data gracefully" do
# Test behavior with limited or homogeneous trajectories
end
test "integrates with Elixact signature system" do
# Test OfferFeedback signature usage and validation
end
end
end
2. HIGH PRIORITY: SIMBA-Elixact Integration Tests
Status: ❌ MISSING
Impact: HIGH - No validation of Pydantic equivalent integration
Required Implementation:
# test/integration/simba_elixact_integration_test.exs
defmodule DSPEx.Integration.SimbaElixactTest do
use ExUnit.Case
describe "SIMBA with Elixact signatures" do
test "optimizes complex typed signatures" do
# Test SIMBA optimization with rich Elixact schemas
signature = create_complex_elixact_signature()
program = DSPEx.Predict.new(signature)
training_data = create_validated_training_examples()
metric_fn = &validated_answer_exact_match/2
simba = DSPEx.Teleprompter.Simba.new(strategies: [:append_demo, :append_rule])
{:ok, optimized} = DSPEx.Teleprompter.Simba.compile(simba, program, training_data, metric_fn)
# Verify optimization with type safety
assert optimized.performance.average_score > program.performance.average_score
assert validate_elixact_schema_compliance(optimized)
end
test "handles schema validation errors during optimization" do
# Test behavior when LLM outputs don't match Elixact schemas
end
test "validates demo generation with complex field types" do
# Test demo creation with nested schemas, custom types
end
test "preserves type safety throughout optimization pipeline" do
# Test that all optimization steps maintain Elixact compliance
end
end
end
3. HIGH PRIORITY: Advanced Edge Case Coverage
Status: ⚠️ PARTIAL - Basic edge cases covered, advanced scenarios missing
Impact: HIGH - Production reliability concerns
Required Implementation:
# test/unit/teleprompter/simba_edge_cases_test.exs
defmodule DSPEx.Teleprompter.SIMBA.EdgeCasesTest do
use ExUnit.Case
describe "edge case handling" do
test "handles empty trajectory buckets gracefully" do
# Test behavior when no successful trajectories exist
end
test "recovers from malformed LLM responses" do
# Test handling of unparseable or invalid LLM outputs
end
test "manages memory pressure during large optimizations" do
# Test behavior with very large training sets (1000+ examples)
end
test "handles temperature edge values correctly" do
# Test temperature values: 0.0, 1.0, very small, very large
end
test "recovers from metric function failures" do
# Test behavior when evaluation metrics raise exceptions
end
test "handles network timeouts during trajectory sampling" do
# Test resilience to provider timeout errors
end
test "manages concurrent task failures gracefully" do
# Test behavior when parallel trajectory tasks crash
end
end
end
4. MEDIUM PRIORITY: Performance and Scaling Tests
Status: ⚠️ BASIC - Stress tests exist but lack comprehensive benchmarks
Impact: MEDIUM - Production performance validation
Required Implementation:
# test/performance/simba_scaling_test.exs
defmodule DSPEx.Performance.SimbaScalingTest do
use ExUnit.Case
@moduletag timeout: :infinity
@moduletag :performance
describe "SIMBA scaling behavior" do
test "maintains performance with large training sets" do
# Test optimization time scaling with 10x, 100x training data
training_sizes = [10, 100, 1000]
results = Enum.map(training_sizes, fn size ->
training_data = generate_training_data(size)
{time, _result} = :timer.tc(fn -> run_simba_optimization(training_data) end)
{size, time}
end)
# Verify sub-quadratic scaling
assert_scaling_behavior(results, max_complexity: :linear)
end
test "memory usage remains bounded during optimization" do
# Test memory consumption with large optimization runs
end
test "concurrent trajectory sampling scales appropriately" do
# Test performance with varying concurrency levels
end
end
end
# test/performance/simba_benchmark_test.exs
defmodule DSPEx.Performance.SimbaBenchmarkTest do
use ExUnit.Case
@moduletag :benchmark
describe "SIMBA vs baseline comparisons" do
test "SIMBA outperforms BootstrapFewShot on standard datasets" do
# Comparative performance analysis
end
test "optimization convergence rate analysis" do
# Test how quickly SIMBA reaches optimal performance
end
end
end
5. MEDIUM PRIORITY: Strategy Composition Tests
Status: ❌ MISSING
Impact: MEDIUM - Advanced strategy usage scenarios
Required Implementation:
# test/unit/teleprompter/simba_strategy_composition_test.exs
defmodule DSPEx.Teleprompter.SIMBA.StrategyCompositionTest do
use ExUnit.Case
describe "strategy composition and interaction" do
test "applies multiple strategies in optimal order" do
# Test sequential strategy application
strategies = [:append_demo, :append_rule]
simba = DSPEx.Teleprompter.Simba.new(strategies: strategies)
# Verify both strategies contribute to optimization
end
test "handles strategy conflicts appropriately" do
# Test when strategies produce conflicting improvements
end
test "validates custom strategy implementation" do
# Test framework support for user-defined strategies
end
test "optimizes strategy selection based on performance" do
# Test adaptive strategy selection based on results
end
end
end
6. LOW PRIORITY: Advanced Integration Scenarios
Status: ⚠️ PARTIAL
Impact: LOW - Enhanced robustness
Required Implementation:
# test/integration/simba_provider_compatibility_test.exs
defmodule DSPEx.Integration.SimbaProviderCompatibilityTest do
use ExUnit.Case
describe "multi-provider SIMBA optimization" do
test "optimizes across different LLM providers" do
# Test SIMBA with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google providers
end
test "handles provider-specific response formats" do
# Test adaptation to different response structures
end
end
end
# test/integration/simba_telemetry_test.exs
defmodule DSPEx.Integration.SimbaTelemetryTest do
use ExUnit.Case
describe "SIMBA telemetry and monitoring" do
test "emits comprehensive optimization metrics" do
# Test telemetry event emission during optimization
end
test "tracks performance improvements over time" do
# Test historical performance tracking
end
end
end
Implementation Priority and Timeline
Phase 1: Critical Gaps (Week 1-2)
- AppendRule Strategy Tests - Essential for instruction-based optimization
- SIMBA-Elixact Integration Tests - Core to Pydantic integration audit
- Advanced Edge Case Coverage - Production reliability requirements
Phase 2: Performance Validation (Week 3)
- Scaling and Benchmark Tests - Production performance validation
- Memory and Resource Tests - Operational reliability
Phase 3: Advanced Features (Week 4)
- Strategy Composition Tests - Enhanced functionality validation
- Provider Compatibility Tests - Multi-provider support
- Telemetry and Monitoring Tests - Operational observability
Success Criteria
Minimum Viable Test Coverage (95% confidence)
- ✅ AppendRule strategy fully tested
- ✅ Elixact integration validated
- ✅ All identified edge cases covered
- ✅ Performance scaling validated
Production-Ready Test Coverage (99% confidence)
- ✅ All above + comprehensive benchmarks
- ✅ Strategy composition scenarios tested
- ✅ Multi-provider compatibility validated
- ✅ Operational monitoring verified
Conclusion
The current SIMBA test suite provides an excellent foundation with particularly strong coverage of core algorithms and data structures. The main gaps are in:
- AppendRule strategy testing (critical for complete functionality)
- Elixact integration validation (essential for Pydantic audit goals)
- Advanced edge case coverage (required for production reliability)
Recommendation: Implement Phase 1 tests immediately to achieve production readiness, with Phase 2-3 tests for enhanced robustness and operational confidence.
Current Assessment: 🟡 Good foundation requiring targeted enhancements → 🎯 Target: Complete production-ready test coverage