Behavior-driven development (BDD)

Behavior-driven development (BDD) is a software development approach that combines test-driven development, domain-driven design, and acceptance test-driven planning. BDD aims to bridge the communication gap between technical and non-technical stakeholders by using a shared language and examples to describe the desired behavior of the system, much like how a 10X engineer would rather spend their time writing code that actually does something instead of endlessly debating requirements in meetings.

How to use it in a sentence

  • In the daily stand-up, the scrum master asked the team if they had written their BDD scenarios before starting to code, to which the senior developer replied, "I thought that's what the QA intern was for."

  • The product owner excitedly shared their new BDD test cases with the development team, who collectively rolled their eyes and thought, "Great, more tests to maintain instead of shipping features."

If you actually want to learn more...

  • Test-Driven Development: Kent Beck's original approach that inspired BDD, where you write tests before writing code. Perfect for those who enjoy seeing red failing test cases all day long.

  • The Art of Agile Development: James Shore's comprehensive guide to agile development practices, including a section on BDD. Ideal for those who want to learn how to be "agile" while still following a strict set of rules.

  • Continuous Delivery: Jez Humble and David Farley's book on how to build, test, and release software frequently and reliably. Because who needs sleep when you can automate everything and deploy to production multiple times a day?

Note: the Developer Dictionary is in Beta. Please direct feedback to skye@statsig.com.

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