Specification by example

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Specification by example (SBE) is a collaborative approach to defining requirements and business-oriented functional tests for software products based on capturing and illustrating requirements using realistic examples instead of abstract statements. It is applied in the context of agile software development methods, in particular behavior-driven development. This approach is particularly successful for managing requirements and functional tests on large-scale projects of significant domain and organisational complexity.[1]

Specification by example is also known as example-driven development, executable requirements, acceptance test–driven development (ATDD[2] or A-TDD[3]), Agile Acceptance Testing,[4] Test-Driven Requirements (TDR).

  1. ^ Adzic, Gojko (2011). Specification by example: How successful teams deliver the right software. Manning. ISBN 9781617290084.
  2. ^ Pugh, Ken (2011). Lean-Agile Acceptance Test Driven Development: Better Software Through Collaboration: A Tale of Lean-Agile Acceptance Test Driven Development. Addison Wesley. ISBN 978-0-321-71408-4.
  3. ^ Larman, Craig; Vodde, Bas (2010). Practices for Scaling Lean and Agile Development: Large, Multisite, and Offshore Product Development with Large-Scale Scrum. Pearson. ISBN 978-0-321-63640-9.
  4. ^ Adzic, Gojko (2009). Bridging the Communication Gap: Specification by Example and Agile Acceptance Testing. Neuri. ISBN 0-9556836-1-0.