Keyword driven testing in software development

If you’ve ever wished you could write automated test cases without writing a single line of code—or if you’ve dreamed of building reusable, human-readable tests that even your product manager could understand—then keyword-driven testing (KDT) might be your holy grail.

Keyword-driven testing is like assembling a Lego set with clear instructions: the blocks are your test keywords, and the end product is a test suite that’s modular, maintainable, and accessible. It’s a cornerstone in many modern testing strategies, especially when bridging the technical gap between testers, developers, and business analysts.

This guide will give you a full tour of KDT, including what it is, how it works, when to use it, and when to run for the hills.

What is keyword-driven testing?

Keyword-driven testing is a method in which test cases are constructed using high-level keywords that represent user actions. Each keyword corresponds to a specific function—like clicking a button, entering text, or verifying a result. These actions are usually listed in a tabular format, such as a spreadsheet, where each row defines a test step.

What makes this approach powerful is its abstraction. Instead of writing code for each test, testers simply arrange a series of predefined keywords. The underlying code behind each keyword executes the actual operations, allowing testers to focus on “what” the test does rather than “how” it does it.

This makes KDT especially suitable for teams where testers may not be experienced in scripting or programming.

Keyword-driven testing is like assembling a Lego set with clear instructions.

A brief history

The idea of keyword abstraction came from the need to scale test automation while maintaining clarity and collaboration. In the early days of automated testing, scripts were often tightly coupled to specific tests, making them brittle and hard to maintain.

First, table-driven testing emerged, where test data and logic were stored separately. This evolved into data-driven testing, focusing on varying test inputs with a single piece of test logic. Eventually, keyword-driven testing emerged as a hybrid, allowing both the reusability of logic and the ease of test creation through a higher level of abstraction.

Today, keyword-driven testing has become a foundation for many low-code and no-code testing platforms. Tools like Tricentis Tosca have taken the concept further by enabling model-based testing, where keywords are part of a reusable, visual test model.

Current testing trends

In Agile and DevOps environments, speed and collaboration are everything. Teams are under pressure to release faster without compromising quality. Keyword-driven testing helps address this need by enabling:

• Rapid test case development
• Clear separation between test design and implementation
• Collaboration between technical and non-technical team members

In short, KDT helps make testing a team sport—one in which business analysts, manual testers, and developers can all participate.

How does keyword-driven testing work?

To understand keyword-driven testing, think of it as a machine made up of four main parts:

• Keywords: These are the building blocks. Each keyword maps to a specific function like Login, Click, or VerifyText.
• Test Cases: Created by combining keywords in a logical sequence to simulate user behavior.
• Test Data: Input values and expected results are often included in the same table as the keywords or referenced from a data source.
• Function Library: The engine behind the scenes. Each keyword is backed by code that performs the actual operation.

An example row in a keyword test table might look like this:

This abstraction allows testers to create or modify tests without touching the code, making the testing process faster and more adaptable.

Relationship with other testing methodologies

Keyword-driven testing often gets confused with similar testing methodologies, but each has a unique purpose and approach.

• Data-driven testing focuses on testing the same logic with different input datasets. While it can be combined with KDT, it does not abstract actions—only data.
• Behavior-driven development (BDD) emphasizes describing software behavior in natural language (e.g., Gherkin syntax). It’s centered on business outcomes and is best for collaboration across roles. KDT, by contrast, focuses on capturing user actions in a modular way.
• Test-driven development (TDD) flips the script by requiring developers to write tests before code. It’s deeply integrated into the development process and mainly used for unit tests. KDT is more focused on functional and end-to-end testing.

By integrating KDT with these methodologies, teams can create a robust and layered testing strategy. For example, you might use TDD for unit tests, BDD for acceptance criteria, and KDT for UI automation.

KDT can be performed manually or automatically.

Manual keyword-driven testing

In a manual setup, testers still write and execute the test steps using keywords, but they run the actions by hand. This might be useful for exploratory or ad-hoc testing.

By integrating KDT with these methodologies, teams can create a robust and layered testing strategy.

Automated keyword-driven testing

In an automated setup, the keyword table is read by a test automation framework, which then triggers the associated functions automatically. This is where the real power of KDT shines—especially when combined with continuous integration pipelines and tools like Tricentis Tosca, which automate the whole process with model-based representations.

Benefits of keyword-driven testing

Keyword-driven testing offers a treasure trove of benefits, especially in large or fast-paced testing environments:

• Promotes collaboration: Business users and manual testers can define tests without programming knowledge.
• Improves reusability: Keywords can be used across multiple test cases, reducing duplication and effort.
• Enhances maintainability: When an application changes, you only need to update the affected keyword logic—not every test case.
• Boosts scalability: It’s easier to grow your test suite when the foundational blocks (keywords) are already in place.
• Supports better documentation: Since test cases are readable, they double as documentation for system behavior.

Teams using KDT often find that their time spent on test maintenance drops dramatically—freeing them up to focus on more strategic testing efforts.

Potential drawbacks of keyword-driven testing

Of course, KDT isn’t perfect. In some cases, it may create more problems than it solves.

Keyword-driven testing might not be suitable for:

• Small projects with simple logic: The overhead of creating and maintaining keywords may outweigh the benefits.
• Applications with frequent UI changes: Keyword maintenance can become a full-time job if your app changes daily.
• Tight time constraints: Setting up the initial keyword library takes time and planning.

Common pitfalls and challenges you might encounter are:

• Keyword overload: Without governance, your library may balloon into a chaotic mess of redundant or similar keywords.
• Poor abstraction: If keywords aren’t granular and well-defined, tests become bloated and hard to debug.
• Maintenance burdens: If the function library is poorly documented or poorly integrated with the test suite, even small updates can create ripples.

To avoid these issues, make sure to:

• Establish naming conventions for keywords.
• Define clear ownership of keyword libraries.
• Regularly audit and refactor your keywords.

These practices help keep your KDT framework lean, clean, and sustainable.

“Test automation should be understandable, maintainable, and scalable. Keyword-driven testing strikes that balance by letting teams describe what a test does, not how it’s done.”

– Elisabeth Hendrickson, author of Explore It!: Reduce Risk and Increase Confidence with Exploratory Testing

Conclusion

Keyword-driven testing gives you a powerful way to scale test automation while keeping things reachable, maintainable, and collaborative. It abstracts away the complexity of automation so that anyone on the team—technical or not—can contribute to the testing effort.

It’s not a silver bullet, but when used wisely, it helps teams build a foundation of reusable and robust tests that evolve with your product.

Ready to level up your test automation strategy? Dive deeper into Tricentis Tosca’s model-based testing to see how keyword-driven testing can fit seamlessly into your existing workflows. And don’t forget to visit our learn section for guides, tutorials, and best practices to help you get started.

Next steps:

1. Identify repetitive actions in your current tests that could be converted into keywords.
2. Build a small keyword library and test table for a simple feature.
3. Explore how to integrate this approach with your CI/CD tools for automated runs.

Juan Reyes wrote this post. As an entrepreneur, skilled engineer, and mental health champion, Juan pursues sustainable self-growth, embodying leadership, wit, and passion. With over 15 years of experience in the tech industry, Juan has had the opportunity to work with some of the most prominent players in mobile development, web development, and e-commerce in Japan and the US.