Ask a Selenium Expert: is Random Execution Order Necessary?

This is number 6 in a series of 8 from Selenium expert Dave Haeffner. 

During our recent webinar, "Selenium Bootcamp," Dave discussed  how to build out a well factored, maintainable, resilient, and parallelized suite of tests that run locally, on a Continuous Integration system, and in the cloud. The question below is number 6 of 8 in a mini series of follow-up questions.

6. Since each test you showed performs its own setup and teardown, is random execution order really necessary?

Yes. Random execution order is necessary to help identify (and prevent) cross-test dependencies. It also has the added benefit of exercisizing the application under test in a random order. -Dave Haeffner, April 9, 2014

Can’t wait to see the rest of the Q&A? Read the whole post here.  Get more info on Selenium with Dave’s book, The Selenium Guidebook, or follow him on Twitter or Github.