3 reason we like Gherkin testcases

Mark Farr

To provide a little background, let me offer a brief introduction to the Gherkin Language (not the pickle). Gherkin was introduced over 10 years ago as part of the Behavior Driven Development (BDD) process. BDD builds on Test Driven Development (TDD) but is more user or behavior-focused and introduced the Gherkin language. Gherkin uses human-readable plain text, keywords, and formatting to help bridge the gap between non-technical and technical audiences. The Gherkin language can be used for both user stories created by product owners and test cases created by developers and QA engineers. I will only be covering test cases in this paper. In short, Gherkin is a language that uses a simple syntax to describe the behavior of software in plain-text format, using keywords to define features, scenarios, and steps.

The first reason we like the Gherkin language to create test cases is because of its structure and consistency. Regardless of who or how much experience a writer has, they all include the same keywords in the same format. With our widely distributed teams in different states, countries, and continents, structure wins. It is hard enough in today's world to be on the same page when the team sits on the same floor, but when teams are in different time zones with different cultures and languages, structure provides the glue, and Gherkin is the interface or the contract between all parties. Structure also allows test cases to be more easily maintained and updated. Unstructured test cases are hard to read and harder to maintain. Below is an example of a Gherkin test case.

In the example above, the following Gherkin keywords are used:

• Feature: Describes a high-level feature of the software.

• Scenario: Describes a specific scenario or test case.

• Given, When,Then: Steps used to describe the conditions, actions, and expected outcomes of a scenario.

• And, But: Allows for more conditions to be added.

These keywords, combined with human-readable plain text, make it easy to understand and read regardless of the audience's technical abilities. This allows all stakeholders to create and consume the Gherkin language. In best practice, the test cases should be created before any code is generated. In the real world, I have found creating high-level test cases before by developers and detailed level test cases by QA engineers after is also effective. i

The second reason we like Gherkin is due to the ease of automation the structure allows. Because of the key words and consistency, automation now becomes much easier. In fact, full software frameworks are now developed for the Gherkin language. Cucumber is a framework that interprets Gherkin and produces code written in Java to automate the test case. There is also Specflow that is more .Net focused. Both frameworks are open source and can be used in conjunction with larger testing frameworks such as Playwright, Selenium, Cypress to give you a complete framework for creating an automation platform. In regression testing, automation becomes vitally important to verify functionality in a timely and cost-effective manner. At Nebo Consultants, we believe this also enables automation to be created and maintained effectively by remote, offshore teams. Gherkin combined with frameworks creates very maintainable code.

The third reason we like Gherkin is it improves communication across all stakeholders as well as serves as living documentation, providing a clear and concise representation of software behavior. Gherkin can be consumed by your support teams, implementation teams, and others to better understand the expected behavior of your software. Using one language to describe software behavior from idea to support is a powerful benefit for anyone who develops software. With our teams distributed throughout the world, Gherkin not only breaks down technical barriers but also helps with language and cultural barriers as well.

I hope I have sparked your interests in the Gherkin Language.

Please let me know if you have any questions and what you think of Gherkin.