How To Run Your Serenity BDD Tests 10 Times Faster!

Exciting news! The latest version 3.6.x of Serenity BDD has just been released, and it brings full support for parallel test execution in both Cucumber and JUnit 5. This means you can now run your tests faster and get feedback sooner, making test automation even more efficient.

Parallel testing is a simple and cost-effective way to speed up your testing process. With Serenity BDD’s support for parallel execution, you can expect significant performance improvements. I’ve seen this firsthand — a set of web tests went from taking 30 minutes to just 2 and a half minutes on a high-end MacBook Pro.

But just running your tests in parallel isn’t always enough. To make sure your parallel test suite runs smoothly, you need to make sure your tests follow three key rules:

1. Independence: Tests should run on their own, without relying on the order or state of other tests. For example, a test checking the contents of a shopping cart shouldn’t need to run a test that adds items to the cart first.
2. Isolation: Tests should work on separate data, so they don’t interfere with each other. This helps prevent unexpected results.
3. Atomicity: Tests should be small and self-contained, so they’re easier to debug and identify when they fail. Plus, smaller tests can run faster and give…