Behavior Driven Development - What it is and How Your Projects Benefit From This Methodology

Behavior Driven Development (BDD) is an agile development approach that enhances collaboration between developers, QA testers, and non-technical stakeholders by focusing on the expected behavior of an application. It extends Test-Driven Development (TDD) by using natural language to describe the desired behaviors and outcomes, making it easier for all team members to understand the requirements.

Key Features of BDD:

1. Focus on Behavior:

   • BDD emphasizes the behavior of the system as seen from the perspective of its stakeholders, particularly end-users.

   • Scenarios are described in terms of user actions and expected outcomes.

2. Collaboration:

   • BDD encourages collaboration between developers, testers, and business stakeholders to ensure that everyone has a clear understanding of the system's behavior.

   • This shared understanding helps prevent misunderstandings about requirements.

3. Using Natural Language:

   • BDD uses plain language, often in the form of "Given-When-Then" syntax, to write test scenarios.

   • This makes it accessible to non-technical stakeholders, facilitating better communication and requirement gathering.

4. Executable Specifications:

   • The behavior descriptions are written in a way that can be directly used as acceptance tests.

   • These specifications serve as documentation and are automatically tested as part of the development process.

Example of a BDD Scenario:

gherkin

Feature: User login

Scenario: Successful login with valid credentials

Given the user is on the login page

When the user enters a valid username and password

Then the user is redirected to the dashboard

Scenario: Login with invalid credentials

Given the user is on the login page

When the user enters an invalid username or password

Then an error message is displayed

Feature: User login Scenario: Successful login with valid credentials Given the user is on the login page When the user enters a valid username and password Then the user is redirected to the dashboard Scenario: Login with invalid credentials Given the user is on the login page When the user enters an invalid username or password Then an error message is displayed

Benefits of BDD:

• Improved Communication: Using plain language helps bridge the gap between technical and non-technical team members.

• Clear Requirements: The use of scenarios and examples clarifies the requirements and expected behavior of the system.

• Better Test Coverage: Since tests are based on behavior, they tend to cover the application's functionality more comprehensively.

• Living Documentation: The scenarios serve as up-to-date documentation of the system's behavior.

BDD Workflow:

1. Define Features: Collaborate to write features and scenarios in plain language, describing the desired behavior of the system.

2. Automate Tests: Convert the scenarios into automated tests that can be executed.

3. Develop Code: Write the code necessary to make the tests pass.

4. Run Tests: Execute the tests to verify that the system behaves as expected.

5. Refine and Iterate: Improve the scenarios and code through continuous feedback and iteration.

Fox Consulting utilizes BDD to ensure that the product meets user needs by clearly defining and testing the expected behaviors throughout the development process.