I also think BDD is a really powerful tool for UI acceptance tests! I've now worked on adding it to two AI codebases (one engineered, another vibecoded), and so far it has been mostly positive. Having non-engineers be able to see what effects their code changes have in the UI is nice; and I find having high level API and UI tests is forcing the first layer of cleanup (standardize access to DB through models/services, and a single API SDK).
I am also really interested in standardizing the REST interface with typespec, and the database schema with DBML. I think creating these closed-loops with high-level specs is one of the best ways to make an AI project ownable by a team.
The example of “transcibe the initial project discussion, turn that into BDD and that makes the rails to guide the AI is … either brilliant and insightful or a snake eating it’s own tail.
Yadda 3.0.0 is out. The release modernises the JavaScript BDD library, but more interestingly, it was largely built by Claude Code and points to why executable specifications may become even more valuable in an agentic development world.
It may be an age thing. 15-ish years ago, TDD, BDD, Red/Green Testing, and a whole bunch of others were hot topics. They’re still useful approaches to know about, even if some (like, IMO, BDD) didn’t really stand the test of time.
This is probably HN's tech background speaking. In the enterprise dev world, everyone knows what BDD means just like every dev out there knows what OOP means.
Thanks. (That’s what it suggested for me as well. Clarifying that I meant in the context of software, it suggested a misspelling of SOAD - Service-Oriented Analysis and Design.)
I am also really interested in standardizing the REST interface with typespec, and the database schema with DBML. I think creating these closed-loops with high-level specs is one of the best ways to make an AI project ownable by a team.
My experiences with Opus have been such that I always max out my Fable allotment but rarely exceed 40% of the remaining limit on Claude.
I think it has to be worth a try though…
I'd consider explaining what BBD is at the start of the front page of your project.
That's disconcerting. Software engineers ought to know.
I was expecting something on Binary Decision Diagrams. SAOD is worst with TLAs.
Funny enough, Google's overview box also suggests soad: "SAOD (or SOAD) most commonly refers to the rock band System of a Down"