Behavior-Driven Living Requirements - The Universal Standard for Scalable Test Automation.
BDR adoption involves multiple roles working together. This document defines the responsibilities of each role in the BDR ecosystem.
| Role | Primary Focus | Key Responsibilities |
|---|---|---|
| Automation QA (AQA) | Technical Implementation | Layer 0, Layer 1, Infrastructure |
| Manual QA / Business Analyst | Business Logic | Layer 3, Report Validation |
| Developer | Feature Development | Layer 2, Layer 1, Maintenance |
| Test Lead / Architect | Standards & Strategy | Methodology Enforcement, Coaching |
The technical backbone of BDR implementation.
| Layer | Artifact Type | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Layer 0 | Page Objects, API Clients | LoginPage, CartAPI (file extensions depend on the stack) |
| Layer 1 | Flows | LoginFlow, CartFlow (file extensions depend on the stack) |
The bridge between business requirements and test specifications.
| Layer | Artifact Type | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Layer 3 | Scenarios | checkout_happy_path, auth_login (file extensions depend on the stack) |
| Layer 2 | Domain Classes | Customer, Admin (implemented in the chosen programming language) |
Contributor to test code as part of feature development.
| Layer | Artifact Type | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Layer 2 | Domain Actions | Customer.addItemToCart() |
| Layer 1 | Flows | CartFlow.confirmAddition() |
The guardian of BDR standards and continuous improvement.
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Standards | CONTRIBUTING.md, Code review checklists |
| Metrics | Flakiness reports, Coverage dashboards |
| Task | AQA | Manual QA | Developer | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Write Layer 3 Scenarios | ✓ | ✓✓✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Implement Layer 2 | ✓ | ✓✓✓ | ✓ | |
| Implement Layer 1 | ✓✓✓ | ✓✓ | ||
| Implement Layer 0 | ✓✓✓ | ✓ | ||
| Review Reports | ✓✓ | ✓✓✓ | ✓ | ✓✓ |
| Maintain Infrastructure | ✓✓✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Legend: ✓✓✓ = Primary owner, ✓✓ = Regular contributor, ✓ = Occasional contributor
This role structure ensures clear ownership while promoting collaboration across the team.