How did BDD evolve from test-driven development (TDD)?

Behavior-driven development (BDD) is a software development approach that focuses on the behavior and outcomes of the system, rather than the technical details. BDD aims to bridge the gap between the business stakeholders, developers, testers, and users by using a common language and format to describe the features and scenarios of the system. But how did BDD evolve from test-driven development (TDD), which is another popular method of writing and testing code?

1 The origins of TDD

TDD is a software development technique that involves writing automated tests before writing the actual code. The idea is to specify the expected behavior and functionality of the system through tests, and then write the code that makes the tests pass. TDD helps developers to write clean, reliable, and maintainable code, as well as to catch bugs and errors early in the development process.

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Dr Meera Asmi

Environmentalist | Carbon Management Consultant | UNEP -GPML Member | Climate Solutions Specialist | Doordarshan News Media Panelist | WICCI Kerala - President | Corporate Trainer | Mentor | Author
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Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) emerged as an evolution of Test-Driven Development (TDD), addressing limitations in TDD's language-centric approach. While TDD primarily focuses on writing tests from a developer's perspective, BDD emphasizes collaboration between stakeholders to define desired behaviors in a common language understandable to both technical and non-technical team members. BDD introduces the concept of "ubiquitous language," ensuring that all parties involved share a consistent understanding of system behavior. By shifting the focus from testing to behavior specification, BDD encourages teams to clarify requirements upfront, leading to better alignment between development and business objectives.

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2 The limitations of TDD

However, TDD also has some limitations and challenges. One of them is that writing tests in a low-level programming language can be difficult and time-consuming, especially for complex or ambiguous requirements. Another one is that tests written in a technical language can be hard to understand and communicate to non-technical stakeholders, such as business analysts, customers, or end-users. This can lead to misunderstandings, conflicts, or gaps in the requirements and expectations of the system.

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3 The emergence of BDD

BDD emerged as a response to these limitations and challenges of TDD. BDD was inspired by the idea of domain-driven design (DDD), which is a way of designing software systems based on the domain knowledge and language of the business. BDD uses a simple and structured syntax, based on natural language, to define the features and scenarios of the system. This syntax is usually written in a format called Gherkin, which consists of keywords such as Given, When, Then, And, and But.

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4 The benefits of BDD

BDD has several benefits over TDD. One of them is that BDD allows developers, testers, and business stakeholders to collaborate and communicate more effectively, by using a common language and format to describe the system. This helps to avoid confusion, ambiguity, or inconsistency in the requirements and expectations of the system. Another one is that BDD helps to focus on the behavior and outcomes of the system, rather than the technical details. This helps to ensure that the system meets the needs and goals of the users, and delivers value to the business.

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5 The implementation of BDD

BDD can be implemented using various tools and frameworks, such as Cucumber, SpecFlow, Behat, or JBehave. These tools allow developers and testers to write executable specifications, or acceptance tests, in Gherkin format, and then run them against the code. These tools also support integration with other testing tools and frameworks, such as Selenium, JUnit, NUnit, or RSpec. BDD can also be integrated with continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD) pipelines, to ensure that the system is tested and deployed frequently and reliably.

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6 The best practices of BDD

BDD is not only a tool or technique, but also a mindset and culture. To ensure success with BDD, it is important to adhere to some best practices. These include involving the entire team in defining and refining the features and scenarios of the system, writing clear and concise specifications with the Gherkin syntax, writing specifications from the user's perspective with a focus on value, making sure that specifications are testable and verifiable, creating maintainable and reusable specifications with tags, hooks, and step definitions, as well as aligning specifications with business goals and priorities.

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7 Hereâ€™s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that donâ€™t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How did BDD evolve from test-driven development (TDD)?

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1 The origins of TDD

2 The limitations of TDD

3 The emergence of BDD

4 The benefits of BDD

5 The implementation of BDD

6 The best practices of BDD

7 Hereâ€™s what else to consider

Behavior-Driven Development (BDD)

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