Know key differences between major development methodologies TDD vs BDD vs ATDD in this post that focus on the task of the developers and their creations

1. TDD vs BDD vs
ATDD —
Developers’
Methodologies to
Navigate
Complex
Development
Processes
Smoothly
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2. Introduction

3. The last decade in the history of humanity
can be easily called the technological
revolution. The pandemic made it starker
than ever before. The developers need to
keep pace with the new languages,
frameworks, tools, and processes that come
into being every second.
To write code is a developer’s second
nature. But, what code to write; how to
write it; when to write it; and for what
purpose may easily overwhelm even the
most experienced and expert developers
when it is raining new codes and processes
day in and day out.
This constant flux can be easily navigated
through the structured methodologies that
focus on the task of the developers. Such
methodologies anchor developers and their
creations.

4. Major development methodologies include
TDD vs BDD vs ATDD, TDD stands for Test-
driven Development , BDD stands for
Behavior-driven Development (BDD), and
ATDD stands for Acceptance Test-driven
Development (ATDD).
Let us explore each in this post.

5. Test-driven
Development
(TDD)

6. Test-driven development method is about
developing test cases before the developers
start writing code. These test cases are
essentially small units as per the requirements
of the entire software.
The idea is to continually and consistently test
the code against these test cases through the
“red green refactor loop” until a stipulated unit
is absolutely ready to be a part of the whole
scheme.
One of the original authors of the Agile
development manifesto, Robert C Martin has
set forth three rules for TDD which are
famously known as The Three Laws of TDD.
They are:
1. You must write a failing test before you write
any production code.
2. You must not write more of a test than is
sufficient to fail, or fail to compile.

7. 3. You must not write more production code
than is sufficient to make the currently failing
test pass.
The essence of these laws is to write the bare
minimum code for the specific feature so that
it passes the testing cycle successfully. The
reason behind this exercise is to keep the codes
clean and precise as much as possible at the
unit level itself.
The best part of the TDD methodology is it
allows the developers to experience the failure
at the outset of the development. This helps
them rule out all the possible flaws that may
arise during the course of the development.
And, that gets them the very exact code that is
required for the exact expected software.

8. Writing of the simplest and the shortest of
the code possible that passes the unit test.
Restructuring the code that does not
demand any alteration either in the
functional or certain non-functional
attributes of the entire software.
Advanced planning that often saves time
during coding and debugging and brings
about greater customer satisfaction and
better performance.
Test-driven development promotes short
development cycles for each unit to get finally
added into the entire design of the software. Its
major characteristics are:
Major characteristics of TDD

9. Behavior-
driven
Development
(BDD)

10. Behavior-driven development (BDD) is a
higher version of TDD. This method tests if
all the units of the application function as
per the requirement of the entire
application design.
In this extended version of TDD, a higher-
level test which is often called functional
test is created to rule out unnecessary code
writing requirements for the maximum
functionality of the application.
Having written the feature-failing test, the
developers then test prototypes to obtain
feedback on early failure and finally write
the minimum code to get the correct
application function at the maximum
capacity. They keep writing this code until
it passes the functional test.

11. Given: An actual scenario or the
platform for the user to take the test, or
username and password or entering of
credentials by the user
The acceptance test in BDD is created by
defining the user story. All the developers,
testers, QAs, experts, and product managers
get together to review the requirements of
each user story. They brainstorm and define
a certain standard of each user story that
has to be fulfilled.
The team uses Gherkin language to write
the examples of user stories. The domain
specific language Gherkin with its specific
syntax exploits this approach of GWT which
stands for Given-When-Then. They are:
GWT: BDD’s syntax

12. When: The actual action that the user
performs or pressing of the login button
by the user
Then: The outcome of the action that
the user performed in previous stage or
sending the user to the home screen or
the display of successful validation
message.
Major Characteristics of
BDD
Emphasis on defining user stories
clearly so as to fulfill the requirements
of each of them.
Reusability of the tests
Use of non-programming language to
make the code accessible to all the
stakeholders in the development
process.
Focus on language and interactions.

13. Acceptance
Test-driven
Development
(ATDD)

14. ATDD may come across as a combination of
both TDD and BDD. However, the focus of
this technique is on meeting the demands of
users as against on getting the exact
expected behaviour in the previous two
techniques. This method is also called Story
Test-driven Development (STDD).
The Acceptance Test-driven Development
method gets together diverse stakeholders
such as customers, developers, and testers.
It is very important that all these
stakeholders share common understanding
of the user stories and their requirements in
simple plain language which can be then
transformed into programming language to
write automated acceptance tests. For this,
ATDD can draw upon BDD’s GWT approach.

15. Writing of user-centric acceptance tests
Improved communication and
understanding between the teams in
plain language
Improved code quality and specific tests
in business domain terms
Facilitating quick feedback through
failing tests
Reduction in time to market
Major characteristics of
ATDD

16. TDD vs BDD vs
ATDD—a
broad
comparison

17. Each of these methods offers unique tools
to the developers to make the complex
development processes easier. All the
stakeholders can use one of the methods or
combination of them to suit their purpose.
However, before adopting any of these
methods of TDD vs BDD vs ATDD, it would
be interesting to have a look at the broad
comparison of these three.

19. TDD vs BDD vs
ATDD : Which
method to
choose?

20. Software development is all about constant
improvement and adaptability to changing
requirements. These techniques ensure that
the developers get enough support in this
constantly changing environment. With the
help of unit tests and acceptance tests, it is
possible for the developers to identify the
exact needs of the application and create a
functional product that satisfies all the
stakeholders in the development cycle.
However, this task has many challenges, the
foremost being which method to choose.
Also, there are other challenges like
competition, deadline, inadequate skills,
budget and many others. While deciding on
specific testing method, following
considerations can help:

21. Consideration of risk factors. If an app is
already functioning, introducing new
features or updates may cause inadvertent
crashes. In such a scenario, it is best to use a
method that is averse to regression.
It is important to have a clear understanding
of the objective of the specific method. Your
testing method should not only ensure that
all the features are working well, but it
should also ensure that the application is
meeting all the business expectations that
bring highest customer satisfaction.
It is important to be compliant with the
regulations of the industry. The developers
and the testers need to be in the know of the
rules of the land so that the end product
does not suffer any legal glitches.
You might like to read
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22. Conclusion

23. In the light of the discussion, you should choose
the testing method taking into considerations all
these aspects. However, you can also combine
these methods instead of going for just one. For
example, ATDD and TDD can be combined to
achieve both collaboration and precision in the
work, respectively.
Similarly, you can even borrow an aspect of one
method to fit into the other. For example, BDD’s
given, when, then format can very well be
adapted to ATDD to define acceptance criteria of
the user stories without changing the code
structure.
Combination of all these three or two of these
offers great possibilities for collaboration,
conversations, and great insights into the
specifications of the software. It results into an
application that satisfies all the stakeholders
involved in the development cycle. It also ensures
a more efficient development environment with
less errors, chaos, and uncertainty.

24. Get in touch with us our experts at
Bacancy Technology to know more about
how to leverage all these three methods
TDD vs BDD vs ATDD in seamless
execution of your Agile Software
Development Company.

25. Thank You
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