Purpose
Helps clarify backlog, sprint work, and team flow in concrete terms. It sorts work by value, risk, and delivery ability. The result is captured as an Example Table and Acceptance Tests.
Agile
Specification by Example
Moves backlog, sprint work, and team flow toward a concrete result through "briefly present the story or feature", "collect examples rule by rule", and "hand over the examples as acceptance tests".
Which concrete examples describe the business logic unambiguously enough to serve as executable tests?
MediumWorkshop60-90 min pro Feature
How it works
The team follows the steps "briefly present the story or feature", "collect examples rule by rule", "organize the examples in a table", "actively look for edge cases", and "hand over the examples as acceptance tests". Each step is made visible. At the end, Example Table and Acceptance Tests are available so decisions, tests, or actions can continue directly.
Visual orientation
Method sketch for a quick mental model.
Flow
- 1Briefly present the story or feature
- 2Collect examples rule by rule
- 3Organize the examples in a table
- 4Actively look for edge cases
- 5Hand over the examples as acceptance tests
The runsheet guides execution with 4 phases, timeboxes, 5 pitfalls, and clear stop criteria.
Open runsheetIdeal for
- Refinement
- BDD introduction
- Complex business rules
Not good for
- Pure UI polish tasks without logic
Deep dive
In detail
Specification by Example, popularized by people such as Gojko Adzic, adds concrete examples to user stories and later uses them as executable tests. The examples are created collaboratively and use the domain's own vocabulary. They connect discovery, refinement, and engineering without a seam.
Facilitation
Choose examples that cover both rules and edge cases. Avoid example numbers that create bias, such as only round numbers.
Output artifacts
BeispieltabelleAcceptance Tests
Artifact templates
Specification by Example Working TemplateCompact working template for Specification by Example with context, input, output artifacts, and next step.markdown
Specification by Example Working TemplateCompact working template for Specification by Example with context, input, output artifacts, and next step.
markdownspecification-by-example-working-template.md
Compact working template for Specification by Example with context, input, output artifacts, and next step.
Specification by Example Working Template
Goal
Concrete examples serve as an executable specification.
Context
When and for what do we use this method?
Input
Which data, observations, decisions, or materials are available?
Execution
Short notes along the runsheet.
Output artifacts
- Example table:
- Acceptance Tests:
Assumptions and open questions
- ...
Decision / next step
Owner, date, and success signal.
When to choose differently
Short decision aid for existing alternatives.
Example Mapping
Statt Specification by Example, wenn ihr konkrete Beispiele als Brücke zwischen Fachsprache und Akzeptanzkriterien nutzen wollt.
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Statt Specification by Example, wenn ihr konkrete Beispiele als Brücke zwischen Fachsprache und Akzeptanzkriterien nutzen wollt.
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