Behavior-driven development

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Behavior-driven Development[edit | edit source]

Behavior-driven development (BDD) is a software development methodology that emphasizes collaboration between developers, quality assurance, and non-technical or business participants in a software project. It encourages teams to use conversation and concrete examples to formalize a shared understanding of how the application should behave.

Overview[edit | edit source]

BDD extends test-driven development (TDD) by writing test cases in a natural language that non-programmers can read. This approach helps ensure that all stakeholders have a clear understanding of the system's behavior.

Key Concepts[edit | edit source]

Ubiquitous Language[edit | edit source]

BDD promotes the use of a ubiquitous language, a common language shared by all team members, to describe the behavior of the system. This language is used in writing user stories and acceptance criteria.

User Stories[edit | edit source]

User stories in BDD are often written in the format:

  • As a [role]
  • I want [feature]
  • So that [benefit]

This format helps clarify who the feature is for, what the feature is, and why it is needed.

Scenarios[edit | edit source]

Scenarios are written to describe specific examples of how the system should behave. They are often written in the "Given-When-Then" format:

  • Given some initial context
  • When an event occurs
  • Then ensure some outcomes

This format helps in structuring the behavior in a clear and understandable way.

Tools[edit | edit source]

Several tools support BDD by allowing tests to be written in natural language. Some popular BDD tools include:

These tools parse the natural language statements and map them to code that executes the tests.

Benefits[edit | edit source]

  • Improved Communication: BDD fosters better communication among team members by using a common language and involving all stakeholders in the process.
  • Shared Understanding: By focusing on the behavior of the system, BDD helps ensure that everyone has a shared understanding of what the system should do.
  • Living Documentation: The scenarios written in BDD serve as living documentation that evolves with the system.

Challenges[edit | edit source]

  • Initial Learning Curve: Teams new to BDD may face a learning curve as they adapt to writing scenarios and using BDD tools.
  • Maintaining Scenarios: As the system evolves, keeping scenarios up-to-date can be challenging.

See Also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  • North, Dan. "Introducing BDD." Dan North & Associates, 2006.
  • Wynne, Matt, and Aslak Hellesøy. "The Cucumber Book: Behaviour-Driven Development for Testers and Developers." Pragmatic Bookshelf, 2012.
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