BDD testing#

BDD testing

Behaviour-Driven Development testing practices at SKAO.

Use Behaviour Driven Development to verify SKA requirements with clear, traceable tests.

Define tests in plain language that stakeholders can understand with BDD (Behaviour Driven Development) testing, while maintaining full traceability to SKA requirements in JIRA.

⚙️ How-to Guides

Create BDD tests, export feature files, and implement test steps with pytest-bdd.
📚 Reference

Gherkin syntax, JIRA ticket structure, pytest-bdd code templates, and CI/CD integration.
🔄 How BDD Testing Works

Understand BDD concepts, the SKA testing architecture, and JIRA organisation.

When to use BDD testing#

Use BDD testing when you need to:

  • Verify formal SKA requirements (L1, L2, interface, verification)

  • Create tests that stakeholders can review and understand

  • Maintain traceability between tests and requirements in JIRA

  • Document system behaviour through executable specifications

Note

Run JIRA integration only on repositories doing significant integration work (like skampi) and only on the main/master branch. For other projects, use pytest-bdd directly and view results in the standard CI/CD pipeline.

Key resources#