Mastering a Robust BDD Development Workflow 

Before considering the features and benefits of using BDD behavior driven development, it is important to first understand 🤔

— What is BDD in software development?

— How to focus on behavior effectiveness?

Understanding BDD

BDD software development is gaining increasing popularity due to its collaborative and all-encompassing approach.BDD, as an Agile development technique, involves the entire team in the process for a shared understanding of the project – developers, testers, and the business team, in other words 3 Amigos. This makes it possible to efficiently find and apply functionality that satisfies the requirements of every market participant and the flow of value.

Within BDD behavior driven development, a key point is defining the behavior of the system before the development process begins. This helps eliminate ambiguities in the requirements and synchronize the digital product creation process with specific business goals. The popularity of BDD frameworks like Cucumber or Behave can be explained by the fact that they allow for the development of pre-executable specifications.

BDD frameworks clarify the requirements for technical and non-technical team members, fostering test automation and a collaborative approach. Aligning business objectives with technical execution guarantees high-quality software, meeting set standards and expectations. This improves both the reliability and efficiency of the development process. Thus, BDD business-driven development is realized.

This methodology is an evolution of Test-Driven Development (TDD), but its main focus shifts from high test coverage to defining the behavior of the application.

⬇️ Let’s define: What is BDD behavior driven development? and How does it work? Discover our visualization of the BDD development process below 👀

Also, you can know the difference between TDD | BDD software development and the best qualities of the latter:

You might be interested in the topic:

• ATDD vs TDD: Understanding the Key Differences

Key benefits of BDD testing:

1. Improved communication.
2. Clarity of requirements.
3. Automation of acceptance testing.
4. Early detection of issues.
5. Better test coverage.
6. Stakeholder involvement.
7. Clear and maintainable test cases.
8. Alignment with business goals.

In the next parts of the article, we will explore these points in greater detail and more comprehensively — keep reading!

Behavior-Driven Development Process

Now we continue considering the main BDD development phases of the Software Development Life Cycle. This one encompasses three main phases:

1️⃣ Discovery phase

During the discovery phase, the product owner establishes acceptance criteria for epics and user stories. In collaboration with the Agile team, they refine these during backlog refinement and clarification sessions, adding necessary details. This iterative BDD process ensures the comprehensiveness of the acceptance criteria and their alignment with the product requirements understood by the team.

2️⃣ Formulation phase

The formulation phase begins when backlog stories near implementation. The team and product owner jointly create clear BDD scenarios (acceptance tests) to reduce uncertainty.

3️⃣ Development phase

During the development phase, when backlog stories move into iteration, the scenarios undergo further refinement with detailed specifications. These tests are executed and verified within the same iteration.

The BDD (behavior-driven development) methodology places special emphasis on automating BDD scenarios. They are often automated, can be included in smoke and regression test sets, seamlessly integrating into the CI\CD pipeline. This approach promotes early detection of issues and their rapid resolution.

Let us group all the process details according to the phases where they are executed 😃

BDD Automation Implementation

We suggest the following implementation steps that will help you get started with automation using behavior driven development BDD:

1. 1. Create a feature file with BDD scenarios. It is written in plain language and consists of a description, background, scenario title, and its steps. You can create a new test case in the TCMS Testomatio by selecting the appropriate template. The feature file should clearly define the scenario steps, including conditions Given actions When and expected results Then, ensuring a shared understanding of requirements. Here’s an example of the structure of a simple feature file written in Gherkin syntax:
   2. Automate feature file within steps definition. This file acts as an automation script that interacts with the software to check its behavior. During execution, each step defined in the feature file is carried out in the step file. You can either integrate existing automation scripts into testomat.io or develop new ones. This enables the automatic execution of test scenarios to ensure the software’s behavior is correct. All of them are initially generated with a skeleton structure by the command line prompt, containing exceptions for non-existing implementations, ensuring that tests fail until implementation. Then, methods for each step are developed to interact with the software. Assertions are added to verify the validity criteria of the scenario to confirm the correctness of the system’s behavior.
   3. Implementation of hooks. Implement hooks to perform setup before and cleanup after function and scenario execution to improve the overall reliability of automated tests. These hooks, defined with @Beforeand@After annotations, ensure better support, reusability, and consistency during test execution.
   4. Collaboration on dependencies. Work with the development team to identify and resolve any dependencies during the implementation of step definitions. This ensures that BDD scenario automation is aligned with the development implementation, leading to smoother integration and validation of software functionality.
   5. Integration with CI\CD pipeline. Testing using already automated feature files in TCMS testomat.io can be integrated through the interface settings with CI\CD platforms. This ensures the automatic execution of tests with every build, allowing for quick verification of new features after each code change.
   6. Execution of BDD acceptance tests. Verify that the software satisfies all required acceptance criteria. These tests should pass, ensuring that the defined scenarios are executed correctly and user requirements are fulfilled.
   7. Monitoring and reporting. You can also use the capabilities of TCMS testomat.io for tracking test execution and generating reports. The integrated reports will provide insights on whether the tests passed, helping quickly identify errors or gaps in development.
   8. Team collaboration. By testing with BDD, developers, testers, and business stakeholders continue their collaboration with weekly meetings to verify product requirement compliance, ensuring accuracy and efficiency in the validation process.

Following these steps will enable you to successfully implement feature files, organize automated BDD testing and ensure effective and accurate test execution:

From the very start, you need to initialize the Playwright project, which can be done by running the next command:

npm init playwright@latest

After that choose the programming language as Javascript when asked in the command line.

Next, you need to add project dependencies and establish configurations for test runners. Install Cucumber and REST Assured dependencies for application programming test interface.

npm i @cucumber/cucumber

Add the Cucumber extension to your VSCode, here you can see what choose our team:

Configure your cucumber.json file with the next settings:

{
  "default": {
    "formateOptions":{
      "snippentInterface": "async-await"
    },
    "paths": [
      "tests/features/*.feature"
    ],
    "publishQuite": true,
    "dryRun": false,
    "require": [
      "tests/steps/*.js"
    ],
    "format": [
      "progress-bar",
      "html: cucumber-report.html"
    ]

  }
}

Steps and Feature definitions:

Of course execute this test you can with CMD command:

npx playwright test

🎬 Recommended video on how to set up and build your first Cucumber, Playwright framework with an example and plain language of login functionality, Hooks implementation of web App scenarious.

The BDD integration with our test management solution allows you to track your test process efficiently at each stage:

For the implementation of BDD driven development automation, the following popular BDD frameworks are also actively used:

• Cucumber. One of the most widespread tools, using the Gherkin syntax for writing tests. It is compatible with various programming languages (Java, Ruby, Python). It offers wide integration with Visual Studio.
• SpecFlow. (Warning❗SpecFlow framework will no longer be available after December 31, 2024, it is their owner Tricentis’s position)A framework specifically developed for .NET platforms, allowing developers to create BDD scenarios for testing applications in C#.
• Behave. A tool for Python, enabling the creation of simple and understandable BDD scenarios, significantly simplifying test automation.
• JBehave. A framework oriented towards Java, developed to support BDD that allows writing scenarios in a natural language format. It provides integration with other automation tools, expanding its capabilities.
• Gauge. A flexible tool that enables the creation of BDD-style scenarios and facilitates test execution across various programming languages.

All of the above frameworks easily integrate with CI\CD systems, allowing test automation at each stage of the BDD development process.

Integration with CI\CD Pipeline

CI\CD automates the processes of code integration (CI) and deployment (CD), enabling teams to continuously add new code, execute tests, and deploy applications to production environments. Incorporating behavior driven development (BDD) into this workflow facilitates automated acceptance testing, identifies defects early, and accelerates the delivery of reliable software.

Role of BDD in CI\CD

What is BDD development and in CI\CD? BDD (behavior driven development) provides automated specifications that are executed and check the behavior of the application. When these specifications are integrated into CI\CD, every new code change is automatically tested to ensure it doesn’t break existing features or introduce bugs. This is particularly important for Agile teams, where speed and continuous delivery are key.

Why integrate BDD into CI\CD pipelines?

• Continuous quality control. With CI\CD integration into the BDD testing process, code quality is checked with every commit. Automated BDD tests confirm the correctness of the business logic implementation and approve regressions in the code. Running these tests in the pipeline helps identify errors before changes make it to production.
• Faster feedback. Developers immediately learn if a feature’s behavior does not meet the specifications, allowing quick resolution of issues. This reduces the time needed for detecting and fixing errors, accelerating the development process.
• Improved communication. Behavior Driven Development (BDD) ensures alignment among all participants in development projects with different roles – business analysts, developers, and QA team (3 Amigos). By integrating BDD scenarios into CI\CD, the whole team gains transparency on whether the software meets the expected requirements at each stage of development.

How to integrate BDD into CI\CD pipelines:

Integration into the CI\CD pipeline. Set up the pipeline to run BDD tests as part of the build process. BDD tools are compatible with such CI\CD platforms as GitHub actions, Jenkins, GitLab CI, and Azure DevOps. They allow automation of the execution of automated BDD tests after each commit. This ensures continuous and automated testing of behavioral scenarios.

After each commit, the code is run through the CI\CD pipeline, which checks whether the program meets the defined specifications. This automation ensures continuous validation of the application’s functionality, improving its quality and stability.

Launching your test scenarios provide YAML file in root of your project. Here you can see an example of a cucumber.yml file designed for a Playwright + JavaScript setup, assuming you are using @cucumber/cucumber and Playwright for browser automation:

default: --require-module ts-node/register \
         --require features/support/*.ts \
         --require features/step_definitions/*.ts \
         --format progress \
         --publish-quiet

ci: --require-module ts-node/register \
    --require features/support/*.ts \
    --require features/step_definitions/*.ts \
    --format json:reports/cucumber.json \
    --publish-quiet

html_report: --require-module ts-node/register \
             --require features/support/*.ts \
             --require features/step_definitions/*.ts \
             --format html:reports/cucumber-report.html \
             --publish-quiet

rerun: --require-module ts-node/register \
       --require features/support/*.ts \
       --require features/step_definitions/*.ts \
       --format rerun:@rerun.txt \
       --publish-quiet

debug: --require-module ts-node/register \
       --require features/support/*.ts \
       --require features/step_definitions/*.ts \
       --tags "@debug" \
       --format progress \
       --publish-quiet

Timeliness Within Agile Sprint Planning

What is BDD software development? BDD offers a methodology that enables teams to fully integrate an agile approach into the software development process. It enhances and fine-tunes standard Agile practices like sprint planning, user stories, and acceptance criteria, improving their effectiveness.

This approach helps teams focus on developing truly important features, reducing the amount of rework and time loss, and accelerating the delivery of value to users.

What are the key features of BDD that complement your Agile practices?

• Collaboration through live communication. BDD fosters effective communication among key participants in the software development process, reducing the likelihood of misunderstandings.
• Priority of working software. Thanks to BDD, all stakeholders can identify potential errors or inconsistencies early on, helping the team build exactly what is needed.
• Focus on common requirements – ease and visualization. BDD describes end-user behavior using test scenarios written in simple and understandable language.

It is important to remember that dialogue is key in development, as software is created by people. Ultimately, the bottleneck in the process is often not testing but ignorance and uncertainty.

BDD is one approach that helps overcome these challenges!

BDD Best Practices

Teams working with the Agile software development methodology can maximize the benefits of BDD by following these best practices when writing scenarios:

• Clear and concise language. Avoid ambiguity and confusion in scenario descriptions.
• Single Responsibility Principle. Each scenario should focus on a single specific behavior or outcome, making it easier for shared understanding of the problem and support.
• Use of Gherkin syntax. This helps structure the scenarios using Given, When, Then. It ensures consistency in understanding requirements and readability.
• Scenarios with data variations. Use Scenario Outline for these, which reduces duplication and improves maintainability.
• Meaningful scenario titles. Titles should accurately reflect the behavior being tested.
• Avoid technical details. Focus on user actions and expected results.
• Examples and edge cases. Include them to ensure comprehensive coverage and verify system behavior under various conditions.
• Collaboration in writing. Encourage collaboration among team members — software developers, testers, and product owners — to ensure that scenarios accurately reflect user requirements.
• Regular review and refinement. This helps continuously improve scenarios to keep them relevant and aligned with changing requirements.
• Testability. Break down scenarios into smaller, independent parts for easier testing.
• Use variables instead of fixed values. This enhances flexibility, reusability, consistency, and reduces the likelihood of errors.
• Define a common background for related scenarios. This reduces duplication and improves maintainability.
• Use business language. For understanding and implementing stakeholder expectations and accurately reflecting user needs.

By following these practices, you will elevate the quality of your BDD development.

Summary

It is crucial to implement BDD alongside modern approaches to test management, such as Agile Test Management. This allows for the proper identification and testing of requirements at early stages, minimizing the risks of significant delays and costs.

What is behavior driven development (BDD)? It is an effective method for ensuring high-quality software through productive collaboration, clear communication, and focusing on testing behavior from the user’s perspective. By following the principles and best practices outlined in this comprehensive guide, you will be able to enhance your BDD testing skills and create software that fully meets user expectations. Integrate BDD testing into your development process and experience significant improvements in both the quality and speed of software delivery.