Bug Driven Development (BDD): When "Done" Really Means "Debugging Hell"

 

Introduction

In the world of Agile and Scrum, the term "Done" is sacred. A story is supposed to be complete-tested, reviewed, and ready for production. But in some teams, "Done" is just the beginning of a never-ending cycle of bug fixes. This anti-pattern has a name: Bug Driven Development (BDD)!

What is Bug Driven Development (BDD)?

BDD is a dysfunctional workflow where:

1. A developer claims a story is "Done" in Sprint Review.
2. QA (or worse, users) finds a flood of bugs that should never have existed.
3. The next sprint is spent fixing what was supposedly "finished."
4. The cycle repeats, creating technical debt, frustration, and burnout.

Unlike Behavior-Driven Development (the good BDD), where tests define requirements, Bug-Driven Development means bugs define the real scope of work.

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The Face of BDD

Bug Driven Development (The Unintentional Anti-Pattern)

• Symptoms:
  • "Works on my machine" mentality.
  • Zero (or flaky) unit/integration tests.
  • QA backlog grows faster than the dev sprint velocity.
• Root Causes:
  • Poor Estimating and Planning leading to
  • Rushing to meet sprint deadlines without proper validation.
  • No code reviews (or rubber-stamp approvals).
  • Learned helplessness—engineers think bugs are inevitable
  • Cultural - favor speed over quality and expecting bugs is natural.
  • Lack of accountability—no consequences for shipping broken code.
  • Low-skilled engineers who don’t understand defensive programming.

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Why BDD is a Silent Killer

• Wastes Time: Fixing preventable bugs drains 50%+ of dev capacity (Microsoft Research found devs spend 50-75% of time debugging).
• Kills Morale: Engineers hate working in bug factories.
• Destroys Trust: Stakeholders stop believing in "Done."
• Increases Costs: Late-stage bug fixes are 100x costlier (IBM Systems Sciences Institute).

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How to Escape BDD (Before It Kills Your Team)

1. Enforce Real "Definition of Done" (DoD)

• No story is "Done" without:
  • ✅ Unit/Integration tests.
  • ✅ Peer-reviewed code.
  • ✅ Passing QA (not "mostly working").

2. Shift Left on Quality

• Test-first mindset: Write tests before code (TDD).
• Automate validation: CI/CD pipelines should block buggy code.

3. Stop Rewarding Speed Over Quality

• Measure & penalize escape defects (bugs found post-"Done").
• Celebrate clean code, not just closed tickets.

4. Fire Bad Engineers (If Necessary)

• Low-skilled engineers can learn, but Bad Engineers won't.
• If someone refuses to improve, they’re a culture toxin.

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Conclusion: From BDD to Brilliance

Bug-Driven Development isn’t Agile—it’s technical debt in motion The fix? Stop accepting "Done" until it’s really done. Otherwise, prepare for a future where your sprints are just bug-fixing marathons.

Question for You:
Does your team Implements BDD? Share your horror stories below!