Re:A Case Against Cucumber
by dragonwriter on Thursday September 19, 2013 @12:11PM
(#6412526)
> Cucumber tries to solve the problem of turning customer requirements into 'real code'
No, it tries to solve the problem of narrowing the gap between objective, easily reusable tests and customer-understandable requirements. Insofar as it involves code, "real" or otherwise, that's a means to solving the problem, not the fundamental problem its trying to solve.
> In theory, you can find a customer who can give you perfectly written use cases and you can cut-and-paste those into your cukes.
The theory that "customers" on their own do this is flawed (and seems to be part of the we-don't-need-no-stinking-analysts school of software development theory); that's not a problem with cucumber or tools, its a problem with not having system/business analysts (which term is preferred depends on the environment, but they are the same thing) who work with customers to elicit requirements that the customers own and can validate but which the analysts helps them to shape into the needed structure.
No, it tries to solve the problem of narrowing the gap between objective, easily reusable tests and customer-understandable requirements. Insofar as it involves code, "real" or otherwise, that's a means to solving the problem, not the fundamental problem its trying to solve.
> In theory, you can find a customer who can give you perfectly written use cases and you can cut-and-paste those into your cukes.
The theory that "customers" on their own do this is flawed (and seems to be part of the we-don't-need-no-stinking-analysts school of software development theory); that's not a problem with cucumber or tools, its a problem with not having system/business analysts (which term is preferred depends on the environment, but they are the same thing) who work with customers to elicit requirements that the customers own and can validate but which the analysts helps them to shape into the needed structure.