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</style><table class="sidebar sidebar-collapse nomobile"><tbody><tr><td class="sidebar-pretitle">Part of a series on</td></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-title-with-pretitle"><a href="Software_development" title="Software development">Software development</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content">
<div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Core activities</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content hlist">
<ul><li><a href="Data_modeling" title="Data modeling">Data modeling</a></li>
<li><a href="Software_development_process" title="Software development process">Processes</a></li>
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<li><a href="Software_engineering" title="Software engineering">Engineering</a></li>
<li><a href="Software_testing" title="Software testing">Testing</a></li>
<li><a href="Debugging" title="Debugging">Debugging</a></li>
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<ul><li><a href="Agile_software_development" title="Agile software development">Agile</a></li>
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<li><a href="Scrum_(software_development)" title="Scrum (software development)">Scrum</a></li>
<li><a href="SEMAT" title="SEMAT">SEMAT</a></li>
<li><a href="Test-driven_development" title="Test-driven development">TDD</a></li>
<li><a href="Team_software_process" title="Team software process">TSP</a></li>
<li><a href="Unified_process" title="Unified process">UP</a></li>
<li><a href="Extreme_programming" title="Extreme programming">XP</a></li></ul></div></div></td>
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<li><a href="Behavior-driven_development" title="Behavior-driven development">BDD</a></li>
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<li><a href="Specification_by_example" title="Specification by example">SBE</a></li>
<li><a href="Stand-up_meeting" title="Stand-up meeting">Stand-up</a></li>
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<ul><li><a href="Capability_Maturity_Model_Integration" title="Capability Maturity Model Integration">CMMI</a></li>
<li><a href="IEEE_Standards_Association" title="IEEE Standards Association">IEEE standards</a></li>
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<li><a href="Project_Management_Body_of_Knowledge" title="Project Management Body of Knowledge">PMBOK</a></li>
<li><a href="Software_Engineering_Body_of_Knowledge" title="Software Engineering Body of Knowledge">SWEBOK</a></li></ul></div></div></td>
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<ul><li><a href="Glossary_of_artificial_intelligence" title="Glossary of artificial intelligence">Artificial intelligence</a></li>
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<ul><li><a href="Outline_of_software_development" title="Outline of software development">Outline of software development</a></li></ul></div></div></td>
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<p><b>Acceptance test–driven development</b> (<b>ATDD</b>) is a <a href="Software_development" title="Software development">development</a> methodology based on communication between the business customers, the developers, and the testers.<sup id="cite_ref-Pugh11_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Pugh11-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> ATDD encompasses many of the same practices as <a href="Specification_by_example" title="Specification by example">specification by example</a> (SBE),<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="Behavior-driven_development" title="Behavior-driven development">behavior-driven development</a> (BDD),<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> example-driven development (EDD),<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and support-driven development also called story test–driven development (SDD).<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> All these processes aid developers and testers in understanding the customer's needs prior to implementation and allow customers to be able to converse in their own domain language.
</p><p>ATDD is closely related to <a href="Test-driven_development" title="Test-driven development">test-driven development</a> (TDD).<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It differs by the emphasis on developer-tester-business customer collaboration. ATDD encompasses <a href="Acceptance_testing" title="Acceptance testing">acceptance testing</a>, but highlights writing acceptance tests before developers begin coding.
</p>
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Overview">Overview</h2></div>
<p>Acceptance tests are from the user's point of view – the external view of the system.<sup id="cite_ref-Pugh11_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Pugh11-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> They examine externally visible effects, such as specifying the correct output of a system given a particular input. Acceptance tests can verify how the state of something changes, such as an order that goes from "paid" to "shipped". They also can check the interactions with interfaces of other systems, such as shared databases or web services. In general, they are implementation independent, although automation of them may not be.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Creation">Creation</h3></div>
<p>Acceptance tests are created when the requirements are analyzed and prior to coding.<sup id="cite_ref-Pugh11_1-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Pugh11-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> They can be developed collaboratively by requirement requester (product owner, business analyst, customer representative, etc.), developer, and tester. Developers implement the system using the acceptance tests. Failing tests provide quick feedback that the requirements are not being met. The tests are specified in business domain terms. The terms then form a ubiquitous language that is shared between the customers, developers, and testers.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Tests and requirements are interrelated.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A requirement that lacks a test may not be implemented properly. A test that does not refer to a requirement is an unneeded test. An acceptance test that is developed after implementation begins represents a new requirement.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Testing_strategy">Testing strategy</h3></div>
<p>Acceptance tests are a part of an overall testing strategy. They are the customer/user oriented tests that demonstrate the business intent of a system. Depending on your test strategy, you may use them in combination with other test types, e.g. lower level Unit tests,<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Cross-functional testing including usability testing,<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> exploratory testing,<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and property testing (scaling and security).<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Acceptance_criteria_and_tests">Acceptance criteria and tests</h2></div>
<p>Acceptance criteria are a description of what would be checked by a test. Given a requirement such as "As a user, I want to check out a book from the library", an acceptance criterion might be, "verify the book is marked as checked out". An acceptance test for this requirement gives the details so that the test can be run with the same effect each time.
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Test_format">Test format</h3></div>
<p>Acceptance tests usually follow this form:<sup id="cite_ref-Pugh11_1-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Pugh11-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
</p><p><b>Given (setup)</b>
</p>
<dl><dd>A specified state of a system</dd></dl>
<p><b>When (trigger)</b>
</p>
<dl><dd>An action or event occurs</dd></dl>
<p><b>Then (verification)</b>
</p>
<dl><dd>The state of the system has changed or an output has been produced</dd></dl>
<p>Also, it is possible to add Statements that start with <b>AND</b> in any of the sections below (Given, When, Then).
</p><p>
For the example requirement, the steps could be listed as:</p><div class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-cucumber mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><pre><span class="k">Given </span><span class="nf">Book that has not been checked out</span>
<span class="k">And </span><span class="nf">User who is registered on the system</span>
<span class="k">When </span><span class="nf">User checks out a book</span>
<span class="k">Then </span><span class="nf">Book is marked as checked out</span>
</pre></div>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Complete_test">Complete test</h3></div>
<p>The previous steps do not include any specific example data, so that is added to complete the test:
</p><p><b>Given:</b>
</p>
<dl><dd>Book that has not been checked out</dd></dl>
<table class="wikitable">
<tbody><tr>
<th>Books
</th>
<td>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Title</td>
<td>Checked out
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Great book</td>
<td>No
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<dl><dd>User who is registered on the system</dd></dl>
<table class="wikitable">
<tbody><tr>
<th>Users
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td>Name
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Sam
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p><b>When:</b>
</p>
<dl><dd>User checks out a book</dd></dl>
<table class="wikitable">
<tbody><tr>
<th>Checkout action
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td>User</td>
<td>Sam</td>
<td>Checks out</td>
<td>Great book
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p><b>Then:</b>
</p>
<dl><dd>Book is marked as checked out</dd></dl>
<table class="wikitable">
<tbody><tr>
<th>Books
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td>Title</td>
<td>Checked out</td>
<td>User
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Great book</td>
<td>Yes</td>
<td>Sam
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Test_examination">Test examination</h3></div>
<p>Examination of the test with specific data usually leads to many questions. For the sample, these might be:
</p>
<ul><li>What if the book is already checked out?</li>
<li>What if the book does not exist?</li>
<li>What if the user is not registered on the system?</li>
<li>Is there a date that the book is due to be checked-in?</li>
<li>How many books can a user check out?</li></ul>
<p>These questions help illuminate missing or ambiguous requirements. Additional details such as a due-date can be added to the expected result. Other acceptance tests can check that conditions such as attempting to check out a book that is already checked out produces the expected error.
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Another_test_example">Another test example</h3></div>
<p>Suppose the business customer wanted a business rule that a user could only check out one book at a time. The following test would demonstrate that:
</p><p><b>Scenario:</b>
Check that checkout business rule is enforced
</p><p><b>Given:</b>
</p>
<dl><dd>Book that has been checked out</dd></dl>
<table class="wikitable">
<tbody><tr>
<th>Books
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td>Title</td>
<td>Checked out</td>
<td>User
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Great book</td>
<td>Yes</td>
<td>Sam
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Another great book</td>
<td>No
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table class="wikitable">
<tbody><tr>
<th>Users
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td>Name
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Sam
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p><b>When:</b>
</p>
<dl><dd>User checks out another book</dd></dl>
<table class="wikitable">
<tbody><tr>
<th>Checkout action
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td>User</td>
<td>Sam</td>
<td>Checks out</td>
<td>Another great book
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p><b>Then:</b>
</p>
<dl><dd>Error occurs</dd></dl>
<table class="wikitable">
<tbody><tr>
<th>Error occurred
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td>Description
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Violation of checkout business rule
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Project_acceptance_tests">Project acceptance tests</h3></div>
<p>In addition to acceptance tests for requirements, acceptance tests can be used on a project as a whole.<sup id="cite_ref-Pugh11_1-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Pugh11-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> For example, if this requirement was part of a library book checkout project, there could be acceptance tests for the whole project. These are often termed <a href="SMART_criteria" title="SMART criteria">SMART objectives</a>. An example test is "When the new library system is in production, the users will be able to check books in and out three times as fast as they do today".
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2></div>
<ul><li><a href="Concordion" title="Concordion">Concordion</a></li>
<li><a href="FitNesse" title="FitNesse">FitNesse</a></li>
<li><a href="Robot_Framework" title="Robot Framework">Robot Framework</a></li>
<li><a href="Gauge_(software)" title="Gauge (software)">Gauge (software)</a></li>
<li><a href="Cucumber_(software)" title="Cucumber (software)">Cucumber (software)</a></li></ul>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>
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</style><div class="reflist">
<div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references">
<li id="cite_note-Pugh11-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Pugh11_1-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Pugh11_1-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Pugh11_1-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Pugh11_1-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Pugh11_1-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">
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</style><cite id="CITEREFPugh2011" class="citation book cs1">Pugh, Ken (2011). <i>Lean-Agile Acceptance Test-Driven Development: Better Software Through Collaboration</i>. Addison-Wesley. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-0321714084</bdi>.</cite></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Adzic, Gojko. (2009) <i>Bridging the Communication Gap: Specification by Example and Agile Acceptance Testing</i>, Neuri Limited,</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFAdzic2011" class="citation book cs1"><a href="Gojko_Adzic" title="Gojko Adzic">Adzic, Gojko</a> (2011). <i>Specification by example: How successful teams deliver the right software</i>. Manning. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-0-321-27865-4</bdi>.</cite></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Chelimsky, David, Dave Astels, Zach Dennis, Aslak Hellesøy, Bryan Helmkamp, and Dan North. <i>The RSpec Book: Behaviour Driven Development with RSpec, Cucumber, and Friends.</i> The Pragmatic Bookshelf.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.exampler.com/">"Example Driven Design"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2013-04-15</span></span>.</cite></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://industriallogic.com/papers/storytest.pdf">"Story Test-Driven Development"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2013-04-15</span></span>.</cite></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Beck, Kent. Test Driven Development: By Example. Addison-Wesley Professional, 2002.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Melnik, Grigori, and Frank Maurer. <cite id="CITEREFMelnikMaurer2007" class="citation book cs1">Melnik, Grigori; Maurer, Frank (2007). "Multiple Perspectives on Executable Acceptance Test-Driven Development". <i>Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming</i>. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 4536. pp. <span class="nowrap">245–</span>249. <a href="Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-3-540-73101-6_46">10.1007/978-3-540-73101-6_46</a>. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-3-540-73100-9</bdi>.</cite></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Koskela, Lasse. (2007) Test Driven: TDD and Acceptance TDD for Java Developers. Manning Publications</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Evans, Eric. (2003) <i>Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software</i>. Addison-Wesley Professional.</span>
</li>
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</li>
<li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Martin, Robert C., and Grigori Melnik.<cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.gmelnik.com/papers/IEEE_Software_Moebius_GMelnik_RMartin.pdf">"Tests and Requirements, Requirements and Tests: A Möbius Strip"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2013-04-15</span></span>.</cite></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">[Test-driven_development]</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Meszaros, Gerard, and Janice Aston. (2006) "Adding Usability Testing to an Agile Project." Agile Conference</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.satisfice.com/articles/et-article.pdf">"Exploratory Testing Explained"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. 23 March 2019.</cite></span>
</li>
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</li>
</ol></div></div>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2></div>
<ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://acceptancetestdrivendevelopment.com">Example of automation frameworks</a></li></ul></div><!--htdig_noindex--><div><div class="zim-footer">
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