Specification by Example with GUI Tests - How Could That Work?

Abstract

Specification by Example is a collaborative method for developing software. It involves a workshop where people representing various roles and viewpoints discuss what is to be built, and come up with concrete example scenarios. These scenarios later form the basis for automated (functional) acceptance tests, and are sometimes called ”Living Documentation”, as they are written in a Domain Specific Language and can be read by non-programmers. GUI testing has traditionally used a record-replay paradigm that requires the user interface exists before the tests can be created, and hence have been considered incompatible with a Specification by Example approach. In this experience report we will discuss how we have overcome this apparent contradiction at Jeppesen, and relate an experience using the tool TextTest for GUI testing of Jeppesen’s next-generation Crew Management System.