BDD: Stop Writing Specs. Start Giving Examples. - Gáspár Nagy

Software Testing Unleashed - Better Teams. Better Software. Better World.

Why Examples Matter: Rethinking Requirements

Bonus Tipp: Never miss a crucial test again

"If you have a good understanding of the requirements, you can write better test cases, tests for that the developers might be able to make it immediately the right way and they don't need to do so much rework." - Gáspár Nagy

In this episode, I talk with Gáspár Nagy about behavior driven development. We look at why a simple example can beat a specification. You do not learn soccer from a rulebook. You learn by playing and watching plays. BDD uses the same trick to build understanding early. We discuss example mapping, writing readable scenarios, and turning them into executable specs with Cucumber, SpecFlow, and Reqnroll. Done well, this guides vertical slices, shows progress, and stops the mini waterfall at the end of a sprint.

Gáspár Nagy, the creator of SpecFlow & Reqnroll, bringing over 20 years of experience as a coach, trainer and test automation expert nowadays through his company, called Spec Solutions. He is the co-author of the books "Discovery: Explore behaviour using examples" and "Formulation: Document examples with Given/When/Then" and also leads SpecSync, aiding teams in test traceability with Azure DevOps and Jira. He is active in the open-source community through leading the Reqnroll project. Gáspár shares his insights at conferences, emphasizing his commitment to helping teams implement Behavior-Driven Development (BDD).

Highlights:

• Simple examples communicate requirements better than large specifications
• Example mapping structures conversations and uncovers rules early
• Readable scenarios turn into executable specifications with Cucumber or SpecFlow
• BDD guides vertical slices and makes progress visible
• BDD prevents the mini waterfall at the end of a sprint

Kapitel

1. Software Testing Unleashed Podcast (00:00:00)

2. Learning By Example in Development (00:05:56)

3. Collaborative Understanding Enhances Requirements (00:06:51)

4. Collaborative BDD Scenarios: Essential Approach (00:11:03)

5. Surprising Discoveries Using BDD (00:13:54)

6. BDD Scenarios as Safety Nets (00:19:30)

7. Predictable Scenario-Based Implementation (00:22:33)

8. Vertical Slicing in Software Development (00:23:40)

9. Rack and Roll: Updated .NET Fork (00:29:48)

10. BDD Insights and Benefits (00:32:10)