1. Experience with
Specification by Example
Larry Cai
larry.caiyu@gmail.com

2. Profile
 Larry, an open source, collaboration & Agile evangelist
 Software Practice Pioneer to discover the best suitable
methods and tools to improve the efficiency of software
development

3. Requirement is the important thing for software development

4. One good way to improve your requirement handling

5. agenda
 WHAT is specification by example
 Tips-1 : Bring Testers in front
 Tips-2 : Visible examples on the wall

6. Specification by example
 Based on capturing and illustrating requirements using
realistic examples instead of abstract statements.

7. User story
Requirement: customer can check order information before purchase
As a Returning Customer I want the system to remember my details so I
can purchase goods more quickly.
Acceptance criteria:
Scenario: Review Details Before Purchase
Given I’m on the Amazon website
And I’m logged in as a returning customer
When I click the “1-Click” button
Then I should see my order details

8. Specification by example
 Based on capturing and illustrating requirements using
realistic examples instead of abstract statements.
 Collaborative approach to defining requirements and
business-oriented functional tests for software products
Also known as:
Example-driven development,
Executable requirements,
Acceptance-Test Driven Development
Agile Acceptance Testing
Behavior Driven Development

9. Specification by example
Source: key process from the book “Specification by example”

10. Tool is good, but it is not must-have to try

11. inside agile iteration
Req
Coding
Backlog Testing
Sprint n-1 Sprint n
› Technical debt from unclear requirement
› Tester verify the implementation cause bottleneck

12. inside agile iteration
Coding
Requirement word
word word Test code word
Customer document
Test Spec Test case Test case
excel
description script System
word
Description
Backlog
word System
Document
Test Report
› Who read the test spec ?
› Who read the test scripts ?
› Where are original requirement and test spec ?

13. problem
 Technical debts in the end of iteration (notice the gap
between design and verification)
 Tester verify the implementation, which cause less of
motivation for most of the testers
 Waterfall inside the iteration
 Less focus on the requirement in the beginning
 Less efficient way to clarify the requirement
Do we do the right thing from the beginning ?

14. agenda
 WHAT is specification by example
 Tips-1 : Bring Testers in front
 Promote tester’s morale
 Better control Quality of requirement
 Tips-2 : Visible examples on the wall

15. Why put them in front
 Tester should be best people inside team to handle
requirement
 Tester is less motivated compare to designer and mostly
paid less.

16. How to move to front
 Make sure the requirement is clear
 Testers make sure right things vs. designers make things right
 Deliver plan based on the requirement

17. agenda
 WHAT is specification by example
 Tips-1 : Bring Testers in front
 Tips-2 : Visible examples on the wall
 Reduce the communication cost
 Remind good quality

18. Why on the wall
 Requirement is clarified in small group needs further
communication
 Requirement is clarified in big group waste time for some
member
 One source and everyone check !
Requirement on the wall is specified by example

19. summary
 Specification by example gives good improvement
 Requirement clarification
 Motivation for testers
 Learn and deploy, and continuously improve it.
 Bring testers into front to push for the quality of the requirement
 Collaborate efficiency by visible them
 What is not touched
 Tools (cucumber) is very useful, but is not necessary in the
beginning