import java.io.*;
import org.codehaus.plexus.util.FileUtils;

String log = FileUtils.fileRead( new File( basedir, "build.log" ) );
String expected = "2 steps (1 failed, 1 skipped)";
if ( !log.contains( expected ) )
{
    throw new RuntimeException( "log file does not contain '" + expected + "'" );
}