Requirements Tracking: Why Do Testers Do It?

We, Software Testers, say it every now and then, “We try to emulate the users”. So, why then, users use the application and just know if it works (without doing BDD/ATDD etc.), but testers insist on doing requirements tracking? This is a pretty interesting question from a curiosity standpoint, so let’s look at this in this blog to answer this in detail.

First of all, it is incorrect to state that users just use the product and they don’t cross-reference to requirements on what they would accept as a viable product. The tools that they use might not be a requirements specification / BDD / ATDD, but they will have their notes on what to accept based on their expectations.

Next, the engineering team needs a reference on what to expect. This is usually arrived by conversations between the customers and the product team, and this process is called elicitation. What is important during this stage is that elicitation through conversations happen. The outputs of these conversations are then noted down as requirements in a requirements document, or in a Gherkin format in BDD and/or ATDD, which is used for eventual usage by the engineering team to come up with implementation and to check if the implementation satisfies the requirements of the customers.

So, the only way the testers can summarize their understanding of product requirements is to jot them down in a document or in Gherkin’s format. If this documentation is eliminated, testers may use their own methods like spreadsheets, which may be difficult to look at from an automation standpoint in a pipeline. It may also be possible that with no standards in place, there are possibilities of errors creeping in the requirements specification. Noting down the requirements in BDD/ATDD Gherkin is simple, and avoids many of the headaches associated with requirements maintenance.

Hope that gives you some clarity about requirements documentation during product development. Feel free to get in touch with me on consultations on Requirements Tracking. Happy to help!