Dispatch Method

6 min

Overview

Test Dispatch Method Selection controls how test scenarios are executed during a test run.

It determines whether scenarios are treated as independent units that can run in parallel, or as dependent steps that must run in a specific order.

Choosing the correct dispatch method is important for execution speed, resource usage, and test reliability.

Available Dispatch Methods

One-by-One (Parallel Execution)

In this mode, each scenario is executed independently.

Scenarios do not rely on shared state or execution order

Each scenario can be dispatched to a separate executor

Parallel execution is enabled based on available capacity

One scenario in one environment

Usage and Advantages

Suitable for scenarios that do not depend on shared state or execution order

Enables parallel execution based on available capacity

Reduces total execution time for large test suites

Isolates failures so one scenario does not impact others

Each scenario performs its own code build and initialization steps. These build actions are repetitive and introduce overhead, increasing per-scenario execution time.

Parallel execution offsets this overhead. By running scenarios concurrently with higher parallelism, One-by-One dispatch can significantly reduce overall runtime despite repeated build steps.

Example use case:

Independent API endpoint tests

UI smoke tests that start from a clean state

All-in-One (Ordered Execution)

In this mode, scenarios are executed in a defined order and share the same execution context.

All-in-One execution order is not configured from the UI.

The execution order must be defined in the test automation code itself, such as file, class, scenario, or method order.

Scenarios depend on the outcome of previous scenarios

Execution is ordered

Parallelization is not applied within the scenario chain

All scenarios run in one environment

The same driver/session should be reused during the full execution flow

Usage and Advantages

Suitable for scenarios that depend on previous steps

Preserves application state across scenario execution

Ensures logical flow consistency

Prevents failures caused by missing prerequisites

Ideal for validating complete user journeys

Reduces unnecessary driver/session creation during long-running flows

Example use case:

Navigate to user profile

Update profile information

Logout

Each step depends on the successful execution of the previous one.

All-in-One Execution Guide

Important Notes

Dispatch method selection directly affects parallel utilization

Changing the dispatch method does not modify test logic itself, only execution behavior

The selected dispatch method applies to the entire test run

All-in-One requires the test code to support ordered and shared-context execution. The execution order is not configured from the UI; it must be defined by the structure and ordering of the test code itself, such as file, class, scenario, or method order.