Behaviour Driven Development

We’re writing a book! But it isn’t finished yet. In the meantime, here’s a sample of the kind of information that we’re likely to include in it. Please let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see explained.

* denotes relevant external links, not necessarily by me

Starting the Journey

These links provide an overview of BDD and its history, from Dan North’s initial inception to the use of scenario-based frameworks that predominates today. While reading these, spot the places where we mention conversation, questioning and feedback. These are at the heart of BDD. The language we use – examples, scenarios, Given, When, Then – is also relevant.

Dan North, “Introduction to BDD”*
Wikipedia, “Behavior Driven Development”*
2 minute video: What is BDD?*
Liz’s BDD Tutorial: annotated slides*
Conversational Patterns in BDD
It’s about the examples you can’t find, not the ones you can
ATDD vs. BDD and a potted history of some related stuff

Converting from ATDD / TDD

Want to know how to move from a TDD or ATDD mindset to a BDD one? These links focus on the differences between the methodologies. If you’re already doing TDD or ATDD very well, you may find some hints for sharpening your practices here.

Tests should make things easy to change
Translating TDD to BDD
Mocks, Outside-in, Swarming Features and Guesswork
Interview with Anthony Bailey: What does BDD offer TDD die-hards?*

Feature Injection: From Vision to Scenario

Chris Matts, an analyst involved in the initial BDD inception, takes some of the patterns in BDD into the analysis space. These practices can really help in phrasing scenarios effectively and focusing on business-valuable differentiators.

Chris Matts, “Real Options at Agile 2009″*
InfoQ article: “Pulling Power: A New Software Lifespan”*
They’re Not User Stories
Acceptance Criteria vs. Scenarios
Step Away from the Tools

Theory and Philosophy

BDD is based on the wider philosophies of Real Options and Deliberate Discovery. These links introduce those wider concepts.

Chris Matts and Olav Maasen, “Real Options underlie Agile Practices”*
Dan North, “Introducing Deliberate Discovery”*

Fun

Sometimes we like to play and experiment with the concepts of BDD. I thought these popular nuggets were worth including.

Pixie Driven Development
Deliberate Discovery – a Sonnet

What’s missing? Is there something that you feel explains a concept better than these links? Please let me know by email – liz at lunivore.com – or in the comments below!