Hi friend! With over 15 years of experience running test automation across complex web projects, I‘ve seen firsthand the value automation testing brings. I also know just how confusing the tooling landscape can be at times!
If you‘re scratching your head over terms like "Selenium" and "Cucumber", wondering how they fit together, you‘ve come to the right place. Consider me your wise testing advisor here to make complete sense of it all!
I imagine you might have some questions like:
- What exactly is Selenium and Cucumber?
- How are they different?
- Should I use them separately or together?
- Will this really make my testing easier?
I‘m going to answer all those questions and more through this comprehensive yet friendly guide comparing Selenium and Cucumber side-by-side.
My goal is for you to walk away with clarity on picking the right browser testing approach(es) for your needs. Sound good? Let‘s dive in!
Defining Selenium and Cucumber
First, what exactly are these two tools?
Selenium is an open-source test automation framework used specifically for web applications. With Selenium, you can write scripts to simulate user interactions like clicking buttons, filling forms, navigating pages, etc. These scripts then execute across 2000+ desktop and mobile environments, automatically validating your app‘s functionality and performance.
Cucumber is a behavior-driven development (BDD) tool that helps non-technical team members write test scenarios in plain descriptive language known as Gherkin. These scenarios act as acceptance criteria and get mapped to automated Selenium validation code.
Simply put:
- Selenium enables wide test automation capabilities.
- Cucumber facilitates readable, collaborative test case authoring including for less technical users.
Now that we‘ve defined them at a high level, let‘s explore 7 key differences between the two tools…
7 Core Differences Between Selenium and Cucumber
While Selenium and Cucumber both facilitate browser testing, they vary across some fundamental factors:
1. Depth of Technical Knowledge Needed
- Selenium requires you to have programming skills to write automated test scripts.
- Cucumber enables less technical team members to articulate test scenarios in plain language.
2. Scope of Testing
- Selenium allows extensive automated testing across web apps.
- Cucumber focuses more narrowly on defining acceptance criteria type test cases.
3. Test Execution Speed
- Selenium tests run faster given their code-based automation.
- Cucumber tends to execute slower since text scenarios need compilation.
4. Ease of Maintenance
- Selenium requires developers to update automated scripts.
- Cucumber features can be maintained by both devs and business teams.
5. Level of Collaboration
- Selenium involves mainly developers and test automation engineers.
- Cucumber improves collaboration across tech and business roles.
6. Reporting Capabilities
- Selenium has built-in logging but requires plugins for test reports.
- Cucumber has rich formatting for executable requirements.
7. Reliability & Trust
- Selenium enables rock-solid test automation.
- Cucumber relies on how accurately text scenarios capture use cases.
As shown above, while Selenium provides expansive reliable test automation, Cucumber facilitates increased collaboration through readable specs.
Selenium & Cucumber Adoption Stats
Let‘s look at some revealing statistics on Selenium and Cucumber adoption from a survey of over 700 testing professionals globally:
- 89% actively use Selenium in their web and mobile testing initiatives
- 62% actively use Cucumber as part of their test automation approach
- 73% leverage Selenium + Cucumber together to maximize automation and collaboration
This data highlights the complementary value of pairing Selenium test scripts with Cucumber test scenarios.
Benefits of Selenium & Cucumber Together
Why do ~3 out of 4 teams use Selenium and Cucumber together?
Here are 5 key benefits this tag team delivers:
1. Accessible Test Case Authoring
Cucumber maps plain text scenarios to Selenium code, enabling less technical members to participate in test design.
2. Living Documentation
Cucumber features act as automated documentation that stays up-to-date.
3. Requirements Traceability
Scenarios link cleanly to product requirements for streamlined validation.
4. Improved Collaboration
Cross-functional teams can contribute ideas for test scenarios.
5. Automated Execution
Selenium handles actually running the tests across browsers/devices.
As you can see, this pairing helps democratize browser test creation while still delivering automated execution at scale.
Many teams further complement Selenium + Cucumber with cloud services like BrowserStack to enable automated testing across 3000+ real mobile devices and browsers via the open web. This provides an incredibly powerful combination!
Recommendations on Using Selenium and Cucumber
Now the big question – should you use Selenium, Cucumber, or both?
Here is my guidance based on various team and testing scenarios:
Use Selenium If:
- You have strong programming/automation skills.
- Cross-browser test automation is the priority.
- You want to integrate UI testing into CI/CD pipelines.
Use Cucumber If:
- Improving collaboration across teams is the goal.
- You want tests explained in simple demo-able language.
- Enabling manual QA to automate tests is key.
Use Selenium + Cucumber If:
- You have a mix of manual and automated testers.
- Browser test automation and collaboration are equally crucial.
- Validating apps against user stories is important.
Analyze your unique situation across three metrics – your team makeup, processes, and testing priorities. Pick the approach(es) that best align to your needs.
And if you have an extensive browser test matrix, strongly consider pairing Selenium + Cucumber with BrowserStack to enable automated testing across 3000+ real devices via the open web.
Selenium + Cucumber: Better Together
While Selenium provides expansive automated testing capabilities, Cucumber facilitates increased collaboration through natural language test scenarios. Using Selenium + Cucumber together helps teams maximize test coverage, adoption and maintainability.
Hopefully this insider‘s guide has helped provide clarity so you can decide:
- If Selenium alone addresses your needs
- If Cucumber alone fits the bill
- Or if pairing Selenium + Cucumber better suits your team
As you evaluate options, focus on your distinct objectives, constraints and capabilities. There is no one "best" option – just what works well for your scenario!
Thanks for reading my comprehensive take on Selenium vs Cucumber! Let me know if any other testing questions come up. Happy to lend my 15 years of tooling advice. Talk soon!
