Cucumber Test Framework 

29th January 2024 |Priyesh Mishra

Cucumber is a testing framework that allows developers and testers to write test scenarios in natural language, which is easy to understand even for non-technical stakeholders. The framework is designed to support behaviour-driven development (BDD) and acceptance testing.

Behaviour-Driven Development (BDD) is a software development methodology that emphasises collaboration and communication between developers, testers, and business stakeholders. Cucumber is a tool used for implementing BDD in automated testing. 

While in traditional development process stakeholders briefs product owners/BA about business needs, PO/BA writes the requirements. Dev team starts writing the code and Tester starts writing test cases and final stage is Finished Product. But in BDD process we can see the collaboration between testing team and business stakeholders (non-technical team).

How?

In Cucumber, BDD scenarios are written in a human-readable format called Gherkin. Gherkin uses a set of keywords to define the behaviour of the software. These keywords are: 

• Given: This keyword is used to describe the initial state of the system before the behaviour occurs. 
• When: This keyword is used to describe the behaviour or action being performed. 
• Then: This keyword is used to describe the expected outcome of the behaviour.

Cucumber test framework makes use of two important files:

Feature file – Contains code written in Gherkin (plain English text) in the above mentioned format. It Contains multiple scenarios for a single functionality in a feature file, this helps to improve test coverage and ensure that all aspects of the application are tested.

1. Step definition file – Contains the actual code written by the testing developer. The mentioned scenarios in the feature file are written then in the scripting language (e.g. java, python, etc.).

Cucumber acts as a bridge between the following teams:

• Business Analysts and Software Engineers
• Manual and Automation Testers
• Manual Testers and Developers

**This helps to ensure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to requirements and expectations.

Below image describes a simple BDD operation –

Cucumber enables automated testing, which saves time and effort in the long run for e.g. Regression testing, Smoke testing etc. Automated tests can be run continuously and can be integrated into a continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline.

Cucumber can be used with a variety of programming languages, including Java, Ruby, and Python. This makes it a versatile framework that can be used by teams with different programming preferences. 

Cucumber is also known as one of the best tools for agile development because it helps product managers and business analysts adjust the testable scenarios and the product accordingly. In that light, Cucumber helps reduce ambiguity in scope and design and enhance product quality before the final release.

If this is of interest and you would like to explore further then please contact info@anyaconsultancy.com

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About Anya Consultancy Services

ACS is a global SI headquartered in the UK with offices On-shore in England and Scotland, Near-shore in Romania and Portugal and Off-shore in India.

We started in 2010 as an integration specialist, working with big enterprises to integrate ERP, Manufacturing, Warehouse and e-Commerce solutions.

Since that time, we have widened our portfolio via a mix of organic growth and acquisitions to encompass a Hi-tech engineering capability, our successful IT services business and a growing portfolio of SaaS solutions from in store radio station management through to Digital catering solutions feeding ‘000s of NHS patients every day.