ATDD by Example: A Practical Guide to Acceptance Test-Driven Development

With agile Acceptance Test Driven Development (ATDD), business customers, testers, and developers can collaborate to produce testable requirements that lead directly to better software. However, agile ATDD is still widely misunderstood. Now, there's a practical, entry-level, hands-on guide to implementing and successfully applying it. ATDD By Example walks readers step-by-step through deriving the right systems from business users, and then implementing fully automated functional tests that accurately reflect business requirements, are comprehensible to business stakeholders, and actually help development teams build high-quality software more rapidly. Leading practitioner Markus Gärtner describes how ATDD is applied through two example projects using two common frameworks in two different languages. Through these realistic examples, he illuminates ATDD's fundamental principles, helping both test and business professionals understand how it fits with their roles and goals, and offering concrete advice on what works and what doesn't. More than any other book on the subject, ATDD By Example focuses on the nitty-gritty details software professionals need to master. In particular, it contains excellent coverage of the crucial topic of collaborative specification discussions, and indispensable guidance on choosing and utilizing software test automation suites for use with ATDD.

Foreword by Kent Beck         xi

Foreword by Dale Emery         xiii

Preface         xv

Acknowledgments         xxi

About the Author         xxiii

 

Part I:  Airport Parking Lot         1

Chapter 1: Parking Cost Calculator Workshop   3

Valet Parking   3

Short-Term Parking   5

Economy and Long-Term Parking   6

Essential Examples  9

Summary   12

 

Chapter 2: Valet Parking Automation           17

The First Example   18

Pairing for the First Test   25

Tabulated Tests   36

Summary   39

 

Chapter 3: Automating the Remaining Parking Lots         41

Short-Term Parking Lot   41

Economy Parking Lot   44

Summary   46

 

Chapter 4: Wish and Collaborate         47

Specification Workshops   48

Wishful Thinking   49

Collaboration   50

Summary   52

 

Part II: Traffic Light Software System           53

Chapter 5: Getting Started           55

Traffic Lights   55

FitNesse   58

Supporting Code   59

Summary   60

 

Chapter 6: Light States         61

State Specifications   61

The First Test   62

Diving into the Code   66

Refactoring   70

Summary   90

 

Chapter 7: First Crossing         93

Controller Specifications   93

Driving the Controller   94

Summary   118

 

Chapter 8: Discover and Explore         119

Discover the Domain   120

Drive the Production Code   121

Test Your Glue Code   122

Value Your Glue Code   124

Summary   125

 

Part III: Principles of Acceptance Test-Driven Development         127

Chapter 9: Use Examples         129

Use a Proper Format   130

Refine the Examples   142

Cut Examples   146

Consider Gaps   149

Summary   151

 

Chapter 10: Specify Collaboratively         153

Meet the Power of Three   153

Hold Workshops   155

Trawl Requirements   158

Summary   159

 

Chapter 11: Automate Literally         161

Use Friendly Automation   162

Collaborate on Automation   164

Discover the Domain   166

Summary   167

 

Chapter 12: Test Cleanly         169

Develop Test Automation   170

Listen to the Tests   172

Refactor Tests   176

Summary   180

 

Chapter 13: Successful ATDD         183

 

Appendix A: Cucumber         187

Feature Files   187

Step Definitions   188

Production Code   189

 

Appendix B: FitNesse         191

Wiki Structure   191

SLiM Tables   192

Support Code   193

 

Appendix C: Robot Framework         195

Sections   195

Library Code   199

 

References         201

Index         205