There’s an entire ecosystem of BDD testing tools available on the market today. Finding the right one for your team and your project can be challenging because you have to balance the needs of your developers with those of your business stakeholders and customers.

However, there’s one BDD testing tool that we trust above all others. Explore more about BDD testing and how DesignWise makes it easier for teams to implement.

What Is BDD Testing?

Behavior-driven development (BDD) is a testing framework that uses natural language to write test cases and improve software quality. It focuses on illustrating the results of what the application does, rather than the process of implementation.

BDD testing promotes transparency between the development team and their clients and stakeholders. It’s an essential process for helping stakeholders understand where their investment is going and exactly how the application is meant to work—without knowing coding languages.

How to Choose the Right BDD Test Automation Tools

Every developer team has a different set of needs depending on the specifications of their project. Some of the determining factors you’ll need to consider when looking for BDD test automation tools include:

• Language compatibility
• Integrations with tools in your tech stack and your pipeline
• Collaboration needs based on the size and scope of the project
• Organization needs
• And of course, cost—especially compared to the benefits of the tool

✅ The Benefits of Using BDD Test Automation Tools

Improved Collaboration

It can sometimes feel like developers and stakeholders live in two completely separate worlds, especially if the stakeholders aren’t familiar with the software testing process. Using BDD test management tools and the right BDD frameworks makes it easier to bridge those gaps and keep all parties on the same page.

With improved collaboration, you can better demonstrate ROI to your stakeholders and potentially be chosen for more of the projects you want in the future.

Clear Requirements

When every party involved in a project understands the exact results of every test you conduct in plain language, it’s easier to establish and keep up with expectations. BDD testing makes it easier to meet stakeholder requirements and address potential issues in service-level agreements and other requirements.

Early Defect Detection

Using the right BDD test automation tools makes it easier to detect defects early and remediate them. Translating every possible outcome and behavior in natural language formats like Gherkin makes it easier to find potential defects.

Living Documentation

BDD testing also makes it easier to create living documentation that combines test case documentation with automated test results. In turn, this allows developers to generate test reports quickly and provide the information that their stakeholders need.

Utilizing the living documentation that BDD enables also allows users to refer to a single source of truth when combining test automation results with documentation. That source is also constantly in sync with the implementation process. This fosters a better sense of understanding for the development team and everyone they need to report to.

Increased Test Coverage

Conducting BDD tests manually is not always humanly possible—no single person can account for every potential story or scenario. However, BDD test automation tools make it easier to capture a wide range of scenarios and results.

Because it involves all stakeholders involved in a project, it’s easier to conduct comprehensive tests that account for many different types of user behavior. 

Better Test Maintenance

It’s all too easy for BDD tests to fall out of date with subsequent updates, especially if those updates aren’t properly tested themselves. However, automated BDD testing tools keep all scenarios clear, concise, and focused on the intent and activity of the user.

Cost Efficiency

This is possibly the most important benefit of all. After all, testing has a lot of room for optimization—and therefore a lot of room to potentially reduce the cost of testing while improving your test results. By conducting frequent BDD tests, developer teams can minimize the amount of expensive late-stage changes their software requires. Automating as much of the process as possible also allows software testers to repeatedly run tests without any additional intensive labor.

Setting expectations and sharing specifications early also reduces misunderstandings and establishes a shared understanding of the project’s requirements. This in turn means projects will cost less money to complete and require fewer resources.

These time and resource savings culminate in a project that’s less expensive to develop, ultimately yielding a higher ROI.

The Best BDD Testing Tool on the Market

There are BDD testing tools for nearly every application and programming language available on the market. However, if you’re looking for the best of the best for BDD testing, there’s only one tool we recommend.

Ranorex’s DesignWise is a test automation tool that makes it easier for teams with all levels of coding experience to test more efficiently. Working closely with Ranorex Studio, it presents the results of each automated text visually so testers and developers can more easily process and analyze test results.

DesignWise can translate multiple different programming languages into Gherkin. It also has a built-in Gherkin editor with auto-complete features and syntax highlighting so developers always know their scripts are valid. With tools that account for multiple expected outcomes and application flows, DesignWise makes it easier to create Scenarios for each possible outcome.

Furthermore, DesignWise is unmatched in its object recognition capabilities. This software is also versatile and can work in multiple project management settings, including:

• Agile
• DevOps
• CI/CD

Start a Free Trial of DesignWise

DesignWise is one of the most versatile software and BDD testing tools available for making your software perform better and empower your stakeholders and users. Request a free trial of DesignWise today and see how it can improve your software!