People are heavily opinionated about Behavior-Driven Development. I frequently hear opponents say things like this:

Why would I use a BDD test framework instead of a traditional test framework like JUnit, NUnit, or pytest? The extra layer of plain language Gherkin steps gets in the way of the automation code. I can directly write code for those steps instead. BDD frameworks require lots of extra work that just doesn’t seem to add value. My team isn’t doing behavior-driven development practices, anyway.

I can sympathize with these sentiments, especially for those who have participated in projects where BDD was done poorly. Even if a team isn’t doing full behavior-driven development practices, I still assert that BDD test automation frameworks are better than traditional test frameworks for most feature testing (above-unit, black box). Here are reasons why.

Separation of Test Cases from Test Code

Test cases and test code are separate concerns. I should be able to design, discuss, and digest a test case without ever touching code. We describe features in plain language, and so we should also describe tests in plain language. Step definitions are nothing more than the automation behind the test case steps. Traditional test frameworks simply don’t have this separation of concerns, even if test methods are loaded with comments.

Guide Rails

BDD frameworks enforce good structure and layers for automation. There are designated places for test cases, step definitions, and support classes. The framework encourages good practices. Traditional test framework, however, are much more free-form. Programmers can do scary and stupid things with test classes. Functionally, a traditional test framework can still be structured well with layers and support classes, but it’s not required. Based on my experiences seeing less experienced automationeers shoving everything into Frankenstein’ed test methods, I much prefer to have the guide rails of a BDD framework.

Inherent Reusability

Steps are the building blocks of test cases, and test cases almost always have the same steps. BDD frameworks identify the step as a unique concern. One step with its definition can be used by any scenario, and steps can be parametrized for flexibility. This creates a “snowball” effect once enough steps have been developed: new tests may not require any new automation code! Traditional test frameworks simply don’t have this mechanism. It could be implemented by calling functions and classes outside of test classes, but not all automationeers are disciplined to do so, and everyone who does it will do it differently.

Aspect-Oriented Controls

Good frameworks handle cross-cutting concerns automatically. Things like logging, dependency injection, and cleanup shouldn’t interfere with test cases. BDD frameworks provide hooks to insert extra logic for these concerns around steps, scenarios, features, and even the whole test suite. Hooks can squeeze into steps because the framework is structured around steps. For example, hooks can automatically log steps to Extent Reports, instead of forcing programmers to write explicit logging calls in each test method.

Easier Reviews

Nothing ruins your day like an illegible code review on features you don’t know. You are responsible for providing valuable feedback, but you can’t figure out what’s going on in the short amount of time you can dedicate to the review. Good Gherkin, however, makes it easy. A reviewer can review the test case apart from any code first to make sure it is a good test case. At this level, the reviewer could even be a non-technical person like a product owner. Then, the reviewer can either send the test case back with suggestions or, if the test case passes muster, dig deeper into the automation code.

Easier Onboarding

It can be hard to onboard new team members. They have so much to learn about the product, the code base, and the team practices. If tests are written using a BDD framework, then newbies can learn the features simply by reading the behavior specs. New automationeers likewise can rely on existing steps both for reuse and for examples as they develop new tests.

Other Reasons?

I’m sure there are other benefits to BDD frameworks, but these are the big ones for me. It’s an opinionated thing. Feel free to add comments below!