Agile Tester Extension
Given-When-Then – ISTQB Definition
Last Updated: July 12, 2026 · SoftwareTestPilot QA Team
Official ISTQB Definition
A structured way of writing behavior specifications in BDD: Given a context, When an event occurs, Then an outcome is expected.
In simple words
The BDD scenario template: Given (context), When (action), Then (expected result).
Exam tip
Cucumber, SpecFlow and Behave all parse Given-When-Then via Gherkin.
Related terms
- Behavior-Driven Development (BDD)BDD writes tests as plain-English scenarios so business, devs and QA agree on what the feature should do before code is written.
- Specification by ExampleInstead of vague requirements, the team writes real input/output examples that also run as tests.
- Acceptance CriteriaThe checklist that says a user story is done and shippable.
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