| name | discovering-bdd-scenarios |
| description | Use before writing any Gherkin scenario, when business rules need to be explored and edge cases discovered through collaborative example mapping |
Discovering BDD Scenarios
Overview
Discover "what we don't know we don't know" before writing scenarios. Use Example Mapping to surface business rules, edge cases, and open questions through concrete examples.
Core principle: If you're not exploring concrete examples, you're not doing BDD. Rules without examples hide assumptions.
Example Mapping
Map each user story with four card types before writing Gherkin:
| Card | Color | Content |
|---|
| User Story | Yellow | One story per session |
| Business Rule | Blue | "Age must be ≥18 for vehicles" |
| Concrete Example | Green | "16yo requesting car → refused" |
| Open Question | Red | Blockers — never proceed with unresolved reds |
Visual Layout
[Yellow] Story: Insurance subscription eligibility
|
+-- [Blue] Rule: Must be 18+ for car/motorcycle
| +-- [Green] 17yo requesting car → refused
| +-- [Green] 18yo requesting car → accepted ← boundary
| +-- [Red] Exactly 18yo: accepted or refused?
|
+-- [Blue] Rule: Electric vehicles allowed at 16+
+-- [Green] 16yo e-scooter → accepted
+-- [Green] 15yo e-scooter → refused ← boundary
+-- [Red] Electric motorcycle: follows age 16 or age 18 rule?
Per rule: create 2-3 Green cards — happy path | boundary | error path.
Three Amigos Perspectives
Explore each rule from three angles to find blindspots:
| Role | Questions to ask |
|---|
| Problem Owner (PO/BA) | What is the business intent? What are the acceptance criteria? |
| Problem Solver (Dev) | What are the technical constraints? What edge cases exist? |
| Skeptic (QA/Tester) | What failure modes exist? What assumptions are we making? |
Conversational Pattern
Template: "Is there any other context which, when this event happens, produces a different outcome?"
BA: "When a driver requests eligibility, the request is accepted or refused."
Dev: "What if no vehicle type is specified?"
QA: "What if the birthdate is in the future?"
BA: "What if the driver has no license information?"
→ Three new Red cards discovered.
Output
Before moving to Gherkin, verify:
Red Flags — STOP Discovery
- Blue cards without Green cards (rules without examples)
- More than 5-6 Blue cards (story too large — split)
- Proceeding to write Gherkin with unresolved Red cards
- Examples use implementation language (class names, HTTP verbs, status codes)
Next Step
REQUIRED: designing-bdd-scenarios — structure the discovered examples as Gherkin
