Code from http://chrismdp.github.com/2011/09/layers-of-abstraction-writing-great-cucumber-code/

employee_steps.rb

Given /^an employee called "([^"]+)"$/ do |employee_name|
  create_employee(employee_name)
end

Then /^I should be able to pay "([^"]+)" his salary$/ do |employee_name|
  pay_salary_to(employee_)
end

gistfile1.rb

Before("@paul_signed_in") do
  paul = create_employee("Paul")
  paul.assign_role("payroll")
  sign_in_as(paul)
end

def create_employee(name)
  Employee.create!(:name => name, :username => name,
    :password => "password")
end

def pay_salary_to(name)
  payee = Employee.find_by_name(name)
  visit payroll_employee_path(payee)
  fill_ :salary, :with => payee.salary
  click_button "Pay"
end

paul_pays_employees_revisited.feature

Feature: Paul pays employees
  In order to retain staff
  As Paul the Payroll Manager I want to pay my staff

@paul_signed_in
Scenario:
  Given an employee called "Bob"
  Then I should be able to pay "Bob" his salary