diff --git a/test/integration/scheduler_perf/scheduler_perf.go b/test/integration/scheduler_perf/scheduler_perf.go
index 064dcc6965e..9b9f6e58e0a 100644
--- a/test/integration/scheduler_perf/scheduler_perf.go
+++ b/test/integration/scheduler_perf/scheduler_perf.go
@@ -1410,6 +1410,17 @@ func checkEmptyInFlightEvents() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+type workloadExecutor struct {
+	tCtx                         ktesting.TContext
+	wg                           *sync.WaitGroup
+	collectorCtx                 *ktesting.TContext
+	collectorWG                  *sync.WaitGroup
+	collectors                   *[]testDataCollector
+	numPodsScheduledPerNamespace map[string]int
+	podInformer                  coreinformers.PodInformer
+	throughputErrorMargin        float64
+}
+
 func startCollectingMetrics(tCtx ktesting.TContext, collectorWG *sync.WaitGroup, podInformer coreinformers.PodInformer, mcc *metricsCollectorConfig, throughputErrorMargin float64, opIndex int, name string, namespaces []string, labelSelector map[string]string) (ktesting.TContext, []testDataCollector) {
 	collectorCtx := ktesting.WithCancel(tCtx)
 	workloadName := tCtx.Name()
@@ -1450,57 +1461,6 @@ func stopCollectingMetrics(tCtx ktesting.TContext, collectorCtx ktesting.TContex
 	return dataItems
 }
 
-// metricsCollectionData manages the state and synchronization of metrics collection
-// during workload execution.
-type metricsCollectionData struct {
-	// collectors holds a list of test data collectors used to gather performance metrics.
-	collectors []testDataCollector
-	// collectorCtx is a separate context specifically for managing the lifecycle
-	// of metrics collection goroutines.
-	// This needs a separate context and wait group because
-	// the metrics collecting needs to be sure that the goroutines
-	// are stopped.
-	collectorCtx ktesting.TContext
-	collectorWG  *sync.WaitGroup
-	// disable error checking of the sampling interval length in the
-	// throughput collector by default. When running benchmarks, report
-	// it as test failure when samples are not taken regularly.
-	throughputErrorMargin float64
-}
-
-// WorkloadState holds the state information about the workload being executed.
-type workloadState struct {
-	// dataItems stores the collected data from the workload execution.
-	dataItems []DataItem
-	// nextNodeIndex keeps track of the next node index to be used when creating nodes.
-	nextNodeIndex int
-	// numPodsScheduledPerNamespace has all namespaces created in workload and the number of pods they (will) have.
-	// All namespaces listed in numPodsScheduledPerNamespace will be cleaned up.
-	numPodsScheduledPerNamespace map[string]int
-}
-
-// sharedOperationData encapsulates all shared state and dependencies used during workload execution.
-type sharedOperationData struct {
-	// podInformer provides access to the informer for monitoring Pod events in the cluster.
-	// Additional informers needed for testing. The pod informer was
-	// already created before (scheduler.NewInformerFactory) and the
-	// factory was started for it (mustSetupCluster), therefore we don't
-	// need to start again.
-	podInformer coreinformers.PodInformer
-	// metricsData contains information and synchronization primitives for managing
-	// metrics collection during workload execution.
-	metricsData *metricsCollectionData
-	// workloadState holds information about the current state of the workload,
-	// including scheduled pods and created namespaces.
-	workloadState *workloadState
-	// tCtx is the root test context, used for cancellation and logging throughout
-	// the execution of workload operations.
-	tCtx ktesting.TContext
-	// wg is a wait group that tracks all ongoing goroutines in the workload execution.
-	// Ensures proper synchronization and prevents premature termination of operations.
-	wg *sync.WaitGroup
-}
-
 func runWorkload(tCtx ktesting.TContext, tc *testCase, w *workload, informerFactory informers.SharedInformerFactory) []DataItem {
 	b, benchmarking := tCtx.TB().(*testing.B)
 	if benchmarking {
@@ -1514,6 +1474,9 @@ func runWorkload(tCtx ktesting.TContext, tc *testCase, w *workload, informerFact
 		})
 	}
 
+	// Disable error checking of the sampling interval length in the
+	// throughput collector by default. When running benchmarks, report
+	// it as test failure when samples are not taken regularly.
 	var throughputErrorMargin float64
 	if benchmarking {
 		// TODO: To prevent the perf-test failure, we increased the error margin, if still not enough
@@ -1521,35 +1484,46 @@ func runWorkload(tCtx ktesting.TContext, tc *testCase, w *workload, informerFact
 		throughputErrorMargin = 30
 	}
 
+	// Additional informers needed for testing. The pod informer was
+	// already created before (scheduler.NewInformerFactory) and the
+	// factory was started for it (mustSetupCluster), therefore we don't
+	// need to start again.
+	// podInformer := informerFactory.Core().V1().Pods()
+
 	// Everything else started by this function gets stopped before it returns.
 	tCtx = ktesting.WithCancel(tCtx)
-	var wg sync.WaitGroup
-	defer func() {
-		wg.Wait()
-		tCtx.Cancel("workload is done")
-	}()
+	// var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	// defer wg.Wait()
+	defer tCtx.Cancel("workload is done")
 
 	var dataItems []DataItem
+	// nextNodeIndex := 0
+	// // numPodsScheduledPerNamespace has all namespaces created in workload and the number of pods they (will) have.
+	// // All namespaces listed in numPodsScheduledPerNamespace will be cleaned up.
+	// numPodsScheduledPerNamespace := make(map[string]int)
 
-	var collectorWG sync.WaitGroup
-	defer collectorWG.Wait()
+	// sharedOperationData := sharedOperationData{
+	// 	tCtx: tCtx,
+	// 	wg:   &wg,
+	// 	metricsData: &metricsCollectionData{
+	// 		collectorWG:           &sync.WaitGroup{},
+	// 		throughputErrorMargin: throughputErrorMargin,
+	// 	},
+	// 	workloadState: &workloadState{
+	// 		numPodsScheduledPerNamespace: make(map[string]int),
+	// 	},
+	// 	podInformer: informerFactory.Core().V1().Pods(),
+	// }
 
-	sharedOperationData := sharedOperationData{
-		tCtx: tCtx,
-		wg:   &wg,
-		metricsData: &metricsCollectionData{
-			collectorWG:           &sync.WaitGroup{},
-			throughputErrorMargin: throughputErrorMargin,
-		},
-		workloadState: &workloadState{
-			numPodsScheduledPerNamespace: make(map[string]int),
-		},
-		podInformer: informerFactory.Core().V1().Pods(),
-	}
+	// var collectors []testDataCollector
+	// // This needs a separate context and wait group because
+	// // the metrics collecting needs to be sure that the goroutines
+	// // are stopped.
+	// var collectorCtx ktesting.TContext
+	// var collectorWG sync.WaitGroup
+	// defer collectorWG.Wait()
 
-	for opIndex, op := range unrollWorkloadTemplate(tCtx, tc.WorkloadTemplate, w) {
-		runOperation(tc, opIndex, op, w, &sharedOperationData)
-	}
+	runJobs(tCtx, tc, w, informerFactory, throughputErrorMargin)
 
 	// check unused params and inform users
 	unusedParams := w.unusedParams()
@@ -1562,90 +1536,137 @@ func runWorkload(tCtx ktesting.TContext, tc *testCase, w *workload, informerFact
 	return dataItems
 }
 
-func runCreateNodesOp(opIndex int, concreteOp *createNodesOp, sharedOperationData *sharedOperationData) {
-	nodePreparer, err := getNodePreparer(fmt.Sprintf("node-%d-", opIndex), concreteOp, sharedOperationData.tCtx.Client())
+func doCreateNodesOp(tCtx ktesting.TContext, opIndex int, concreteOp *createNodesOp, nextNodeIndex *int) {
+	nodePreparer, err := getNodePreparer(fmt.Sprintf("node-%d-", opIndex), concreteOp, tCtx.Client())
 	if err != nil {
-		sharedOperationData.tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, err)
+		tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, err)
 	}
-	if err := nodePreparer.PrepareNodes(sharedOperationData.tCtx, sharedOperationData.workloadState.nextNodeIndex); err != nil {
-		sharedOperationData.tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, err)
+	if err := nodePreparer.PrepareNodes(tCtx, *nextNodeIndex); err != nil {
+		tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, err)
 	}
-	sharedOperationData.workloadState.nextNodeIndex += concreteOp.Count
+	*nextNodeIndex += concreteOp.Count
 }
 
-func runCreateNamespacesOp(opIndex int, concreteOp *createNamespacesOp, sharedOperationData *sharedOperationData) {
-	nsPreparer, err := newNamespacePreparer(sharedOperationData.tCtx, concreteOp)
+func doCreateNamespaceOp(tCtx ktesting.TContext, opIndex int, concreteOp *createNamespacesOp, numPodsScheduledPerNamespace map[string]int) {
+	nsPreparer, err := newNamespacePreparer(tCtx, concreteOp)
 	if err != nil {
-		sharedOperationData.tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, err)
+		tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, err)
 	}
-	if err := nsPreparer.prepare(sharedOperationData.tCtx); err != nil {
-		err2 := nsPreparer.cleanup(sharedOperationData.tCtx)
+	if err := nsPreparer.prepare(tCtx); err != nil {
+		err2 := nsPreparer.cleanup(tCtx)
 		if err2 != nil {
 			err = fmt.Errorf("prepare: %v; cleanup: %v", err, err2)
 		}
-		sharedOperationData.tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, err)
+		tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, err)
 	}
 	for _, n := range nsPreparer.namespaces() {
-		if _, ok := sharedOperationData.workloadState.numPodsScheduledPerNamespace[n]; ok {
+		if _, ok := numPodsScheduledPerNamespace[n]; ok {
 			// this namespace has been already created.
 			continue
 		}
-		sharedOperationData.workloadState.numPodsScheduledPerNamespace[n] = 0
+		numPodsScheduledPerNamespace[n] = 0
 	}
 }
 
-func runCreatePodsOp(tc *testCase, w *workload, opIndex int, concreteOp *createPodsOp, sharedOperationData *sharedOperationData) {
+func doBarrierOp(tCtx ktesting.TContext, opIndex int, concreteOp *barrierOp, numPodsScheduledPerNamespace map[string]int, podInformer coreinformers.PodInformer) {
+	for _, namespace := range concreteOp.Namespaces {
+		if _, ok := numPodsScheduledPerNamespace[namespace]; !ok {
+			tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: unknown namespace %s", opIndex, namespace)
+		}
+	}
+	switch concreteOp.StageRequirement {
+	case Attempted:
+		if err := waitUntilPodsAttempted(tCtx, podInformer, concreteOp.LabelSelector, concreteOp.Namespaces, numPodsScheduledPerNamespace); err != nil {
+			tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, err)
+		}
+	case Scheduled:
+		// Default should be treated like "Scheduled", so handling both in the same way.
+		fallthrough
+	default:
+		if err := waitUntilPodsScheduled(tCtx, podInformer, concreteOp.LabelSelector, concreteOp.Namespaces, numPodsScheduledPerNamespace); err != nil {
+			tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, err)
+		}
+		// At the end of the barrier, we can be sure that there are no pods
+		// pending scheduling in the namespaces that we just blocked on.
+		if len(concreteOp.Namespaces) == 0 {
+			numPodsScheduledPerNamespace = make(map[string]int)
+		} else {
+			for _, namespace := range concreteOp.Namespaces {
+				delete(numPodsScheduledPerNamespace, namespace)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func doStopCollectingMetrics(tCtx ktesting.TContext, collectorCtx *ktesting.TContext, opIndex int, dataItems *[]DataItem, w *workload, collectors []testDataCollector, collectorWG *sync.WaitGroup) {
+	items := stopCollectingMetrics(tCtx, *collectorCtx, collectorWG, w.Threshold, *w.ThresholdMetricSelector, opIndex, collectors)
+	*dataItems = append(*dataItems, items...)
+	*collectorCtx = nil
+}
+
+func doCreatePodsOp(
+	tCtx ktesting.TContext,
+	opIndex int,
+	concreteOp *createPodsOp,
+	numPodsScheduledPerNamespace map[string]int,
+	dataItems *[]DataItem,
+	w *workload,
+	collectors *[]testDataCollector,
+	collectorWG *sync.WaitGroup,
+	throughputErrorMargin float64,
+	podInformer coreinformers.PodInformer,
+	tc *testCase,
+	collectorCtx *ktesting.TContext) {
 	var namespace string
 	// define Pod's namespace automatically, and create that namespace.
 	namespace = fmt.Sprintf("namespace-%d", opIndex)
 	if concreteOp.Namespace != nil {
 		namespace = *concreteOp.Namespace
 	}
-	createNamespaceIfNotPresent(sharedOperationData.tCtx, namespace, &sharedOperationData.workloadState.numPodsScheduledPerNamespace)
+	createNamespaceIfNotPresent(tCtx, namespace, &numPodsScheduledPerNamespace)
 	if concreteOp.PodTemplatePath == nil {
 		concreteOp.PodTemplatePath = tc.DefaultPodTemplatePath
 	}
 
 	if concreteOp.CollectMetrics {
-		if sharedOperationData.metricsData.collectorCtx != nil {
-			sharedOperationData.tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: Metrics collection is overlapping. Probably second collector was started before stopping a previous one", opIndex)
+		if *collectorCtx != nil {
+			tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: Metrics collection is overlapping. Probably second collector was started before stopping a previous one", opIndex)
 		}
-		sharedOperationData.metricsData.collectorCtx, sharedOperationData.metricsData.collectors = startCollectingMetrics(sharedOperationData.tCtx, sharedOperationData.metricsData.collectorWG, sharedOperationData.podInformer, tc.MetricsCollectorConfig, sharedOperationData.metricsData.throughputErrorMargin, opIndex, namespace, []string{namespace}, nil)
-		defer sharedOperationData.metricsData.collectorCtx.Cancel("cleaning up")
+		*collectorCtx, *collectors = startCollectingMetrics(tCtx, collectorWG, podInformer, tc.MetricsCollectorConfig, throughputErrorMargin, opIndex, namespace, []string{namespace}, nil)
 	}
-	if err := createPodsRapidly(sharedOperationData.tCtx, namespace, concreteOp); err != nil {
-		sharedOperationData.tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, err)
+	if err := createPodsRapidly(tCtx, namespace, concreteOp); err != nil {
+		tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, err)
 	}
 	switch {
 	case concreteOp.SkipWaitToCompletion:
 		// Only record those namespaces that may potentially require barriers
 		// in the future.
-		sharedOperationData.workloadState.numPodsScheduledPerNamespace[namespace] += concreteOp.Count
+		numPodsScheduledPerNamespace[namespace] += concreteOp.Count
 	case concreteOp.SteadyState:
-		if err := createPodsSteadily(sharedOperationData.tCtx, namespace, sharedOperationData.podInformer, concreteOp); err != nil {
-			sharedOperationData.tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, err)
+		if err := createPodsSteadily(tCtx, namespace, podInformer, concreteOp); err != nil {
+			tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, err)
 		}
 	default:
-		if err := waitUntilPodsScheduledInNamespace(sharedOperationData.tCtx, sharedOperationData.podInformer, nil, namespace, concreteOp.Count); err != nil {
-			sharedOperationData.tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: error in waiting for pods to get scheduled: %v", opIndex, err)
+		if err := waitUntilPodsScheduledInNamespace(tCtx, podInformer, nil, namespace, concreteOp.Count); err != nil {
+			tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: error in waiting for pods to get scheduled: %v", opIndex, err)
 		}
 	}
 	if concreteOp.CollectMetrics {
 		// CollectMetrics and SkipWaitToCompletion can never be true at the
 		// same time, so if we're here, it means that all pods have been
 		// scheduled.
-		items := stopCollectingMetrics(sharedOperationData.tCtx, sharedOperationData.metricsData.collectorCtx, sharedOperationData.metricsData.collectorWG, w.Threshold, *w.ThresholdMetricSelector, opIndex, sharedOperationData.metricsData.collectors)
-		sharedOperationData.workloadState.dataItems = append(sharedOperationData.workloadState.dataItems, items...)
-		sharedOperationData.metricsData.collectorCtx = nil
+		items := stopCollectingMetrics(tCtx, *collectorCtx, collectorWG, w.Threshold, *w.ThresholdMetricSelector, opIndex, *collectors)
+		*dataItems = append(*dataItems, items...)
+		*collectorCtx = nil
 	}
 }
 
-func runDeletePodsOp(opIndex int, concreteOp *deletePodsOp, sharedOperationData *sharedOperationData) {
+func doDeletePodsOp(tCtx ktesting.TContext, opIndex int, concreteOp *deletePodsOp, podInformer coreinformers.PodInformer, wg *sync.WaitGroup) {
 	labelSelector := labels.ValidatedSetSelector(concreteOp.LabelSelector)
 
-	podsToDelete, err := sharedOperationData.podInformer.Lister().Pods(concreteOp.Namespace).List(labelSelector)
+	podsToDelete, err := podInformer.Lister().Pods(concreteOp.Namespace).List(labelSelector)
 	if err != nil {
-		sharedOperationData.tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: error in listing pods in the namespace %s: %v", opIndex, concreteOp.Namespace, err)
+		tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: error in listing pods in the namespace %s: %v", opIndex, concreteOp.Namespace, err)
 	}
 
 	deletePods := func(opIndex int) {
@@ -1656,13 +1677,13 @@ func runDeletePodsOp(opIndex int, concreteOp *deletePodsOp, sharedOperationData
 			for i := 0; i < len(podsToDelete); i++ {
 				select {
 				case <-ticker.C:
-					if err := sharedOperationData.tCtx.Client().CoreV1().Pods(concreteOp.Namespace).Delete(sharedOperationData.tCtx, podsToDelete[i].Name, metav1.DeleteOptions{}); err != nil {
+					if err := tCtx.Client().CoreV1().Pods(concreteOp.Namespace).Delete(tCtx, podsToDelete[i].Name, metav1.DeleteOptions{}); err != nil {
 						if errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
 							return
 						}
-						sharedOperationData.tCtx.Errorf("op %d: unable to delete pod %v: %v", opIndex, podsToDelete[i].Name, err)
+						tCtx.Errorf("op %d: unable to delete pod %v: %v", opIndex, podsToDelete[i].Name, err)
 					}
-				case <-sharedOperationData.tCtx.Done():
+				case <-tCtx.Done():
 					return
 				}
 			}
@@ -1671,18 +1692,18 @@ func runDeletePodsOp(opIndex int, concreteOp *deletePodsOp, sharedOperationData
 		listOpts := metav1.ListOptions{
 			LabelSelector: labelSelector.String(),
 		}
-		if err := sharedOperationData.tCtx.Client().CoreV1().Pods(concreteOp.Namespace).DeleteCollection(sharedOperationData.tCtx, metav1.DeleteOptions{}, listOpts); err != nil {
+		if err := tCtx.Client().CoreV1().Pods(concreteOp.Namespace).DeleteCollection(tCtx, metav1.DeleteOptions{}, listOpts); err != nil {
 			if errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
 				return
 			}
-			sharedOperationData.tCtx.Errorf("op %d: unable to delete pods in namespace %v: %v", opIndex, concreteOp.Namespace, err)
+			tCtx.Errorf("op %d: unable to delete pods in namespace %v: %v", opIndex, concreteOp.Namespace, err)
 		}
 	}
 
 	if concreteOp.SkipWaitToCompletion {
-		sharedOperationData.wg.Add(1)
+		wg.Add(1)
 		go func(opIndex int) {
-			defer sharedOperationData.wg.Done()
+			defer wg.Done()
 			deletePods(opIndex)
 		}(opIndex)
 	} else {
@@ -1690,18 +1711,18 @@ func runDeletePodsOp(opIndex int, concreteOp *deletePodsOp, sharedOperationData
 	}
 }
 
-func runChurnOp(opIndex int, concreteOp *churnOp, sharedOperationData *sharedOperationData) {
+func doChurnOp(tCtx ktesting.TContext, opIndex int, concreteOp *churnOp, wg *sync.WaitGroup) {
 	var namespace string
 	if concreteOp.Namespace != nil {
 		namespace = *concreteOp.Namespace
 	} else {
 		namespace = fmt.Sprintf("namespace-%d", opIndex)
 	}
-	restMapper := restmapper.NewDeferredDiscoveryRESTMapper(cacheddiscovery.NewMemCacheClient(sharedOperationData.tCtx.Client().Discovery()))
+	restMapper := restmapper.NewDeferredDiscoveryRESTMapper(cacheddiscovery.NewMemCacheClient(tCtx.Client().Discovery()))
 	// Ensure the namespace exists.
 	nsObj := &v1.Namespace{ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: namespace}}
-	if _, err := sharedOperationData.tCtx.Client().CoreV1().Namespaces().Create(sharedOperationData.tCtx, nsObj, metav1.CreateOptions{}); err != nil && !apierrors.IsAlreadyExists(err) {
-		sharedOperationData.tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: unable to create namespace %v: %v", opIndex, namespace, err)
+	if _, err := tCtx.Client().CoreV1().Namespaces().Create(tCtx, nsObj, metav1.CreateOptions{}); err != nil && !apierrors.IsAlreadyExists(err) {
+		tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: unable to create namespace %v: %v", opIndex, namespace, err)
 	}
 
 	var churnFns []func(name string) string
@@ -1709,31 +1730,31 @@ func runChurnOp(opIndex int, concreteOp *churnOp, sharedOperationData *sharedOpe
 	for i, path := range concreteOp.TemplatePaths {
 		unstructuredObj, gvk, err := getUnstructuredFromFile(path)
 		if err != nil {
-			sharedOperationData.tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: unable to parse the %v-th template path: %v", opIndex, i, err)
+			tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: unable to parse the %v-th template path: %v", opIndex, i, err)
 		}
 		// Obtain GVR.
 		mapping, err := restMapper.RESTMapping(gvk.GroupKind(), gvk.Version)
 		if err != nil {
-			sharedOperationData.tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: unable to find GVR for %v: %v", opIndex, gvk, err)
+			tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: unable to find GVR for %v: %v", opIndex, gvk, err)
 		}
 		gvr := mapping.Resource
 		// Distinguish cluster-scoped with namespaced API objects.
 		var dynRes dynamic.ResourceInterface
 		if mapping.Scope.Name() == meta.RESTScopeNameNamespace {
-			dynRes = sharedOperationData.tCtx.Dynamic().Resource(gvr).Namespace(namespace)
+			dynRes = tCtx.Dynamic().Resource(gvr).Namespace(namespace)
 		} else {
-			dynRes = sharedOperationData.tCtx.Dynamic().Resource(gvr)
+			dynRes = tCtx.Dynamic().Resource(gvr)
 		}
 
 		churnFns = append(churnFns, func(name string) string {
 			if name != "" {
-				if err := dynRes.Delete(sharedOperationData.tCtx, name, metav1.DeleteOptions{}); err != nil && !errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
-					sharedOperationData.tCtx.Errorf("op %d: unable to delete %v: %v", opIndex, name, err)
+				if err := dynRes.Delete(tCtx, name, metav1.DeleteOptions{}); err != nil && !errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
+					tCtx.Errorf("op %d: unable to delete %v: %v", opIndex, name, err)
 				}
 				return ""
 			}
 
-			live, err := dynRes.Create(sharedOperationData.tCtx, unstructuredObj, metav1.CreateOptions{})
+			live, err := dynRes.Create(tCtx, unstructuredObj, metav1.CreateOptions{})
 			if err != nil {
 				return ""
 			}
@@ -1746,13 +1767,13 @@ func runChurnOp(opIndex int, concreteOp *churnOp, sharedOperationData *sharedOpe
 		interval = concreteOp.IntervalMilliseconds
 	}
 	ticker := time.NewTicker(time.Duration(interval) * time.Millisecond)
-	defer ticker.Stop()
 
 	switch concreteOp.Mode {
 	case Create:
-		sharedOperationData.wg.Add(1)
+		wg.Add(1)
 		go func() {
-			defer sharedOperationData.wg.Done()
+			defer wg.Done()
+			defer ticker.Stop()
 			count, threshold := 0, concreteOp.Number
 			if threshold == 0 {
 				threshold = math.MaxInt32
@@ -1764,15 +1785,16 @@ func runChurnOp(opIndex int, concreteOp *churnOp, sharedOperationData *sharedOpe
 						churnFns[i]("")
 					}
 					count++
-				case <-sharedOperationData.tCtx.Done():
+				case <-tCtx.Done():
 					return
 				}
 			}
 		}()
 	case Recreate:
-		sharedOperationData.wg.Add(1)
+		wg.Add(1)
 		go func() {
-			defer sharedOperationData.wg.Done()
+			defer wg.Done()
+			defer ticker.Stop()
 			retVals := make([][]string, len(churnFns))
 			// For each churn function, instantiate a slice of strings with length "concreteOp.Number".
 			for i := range retVals {
@@ -1787,7 +1809,7 @@ func runChurnOp(opIndex int, concreteOp *churnOp, sharedOperationData *sharedOpe
 						retVals[i][count%concreteOp.Number] = churnFns[i](retVals[i][count%concreteOp.Number])
 					}
 					count++
-				case <-sharedOperationData.tCtx.Done():
+				case <-tCtx.Done():
 					return
 				}
 			}
@@ -1795,98 +1817,85 @@ func runChurnOp(opIndex int, concreteOp *churnOp, sharedOperationData *sharedOpe
 	}
 }
 
-func runBarrierOp(opIndex int, concreteOp *barrierOp, sharedOperationData *sharedOperationData) {
-	for _, namespace := range concreteOp.Namespaces {
-		if _, ok := sharedOperationData.workloadState.numPodsScheduledPerNamespace[namespace]; !ok {
-			sharedOperationData.tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: unknown namespace %s", opIndex, namespace)
-		}
-	}
-	switch concreteOp.StageRequirement {
-	case Attempted:
-		if err := waitUntilPodsAttempted(sharedOperationData.tCtx, sharedOperationData.podInformer, concreteOp.LabelSelector, concreteOp.Namespaces, sharedOperationData.workloadState.numPodsScheduledPerNamespace); err != nil {
-			sharedOperationData.tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, err)
-		}
-	case Scheduled:
-		// Default should be treated like "Scheduled", so handling both in the same way.
-		fallthrough
-	default:
-		if err := waitUntilPodsScheduled(sharedOperationData.tCtx, sharedOperationData.podInformer, concreteOp.LabelSelector, concreteOp.Namespaces, sharedOperationData.workloadState.numPodsScheduledPerNamespace); err != nil {
-			sharedOperationData.tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, err)
-		}
-		// At the end of the barrier, we can be sure that there are no pods
-		// pending scheduling in the namespaces that we just blocked on.
-		if len(concreteOp.Namespaces) == 0 {
-			sharedOperationData.workloadState.numPodsScheduledPerNamespace = make(map[string]int)
-		} else {
-			for _, namespace := range concreteOp.Namespaces {
-				delete(sharedOperationData.workloadState.numPodsScheduledPerNamespace, namespace)
-			}
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-func runSleepOp(concreteOp *sleepOp, sharedOperationData *sharedOperationData) {
-	select {
-	case <-sharedOperationData.tCtx.Done():
-	case <-time.After(concreteOp.Duration.Duration):
-	}
-}
-
-func runStartCollectingMetricsOp(opIndex int, tc *testCase, concreteOp *startCollectingMetricsOp, sharedOperationData *sharedOperationData) {
-	if sharedOperationData.metricsData.collectorCtx != nil {
-		sharedOperationData.tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: Metrics collection is overlapping. Probably second collector was started before stopping a previous one", opIndex)
-	}
-	sharedOperationData.metricsData.collectorCtx, sharedOperationData.metricsData.collectors = startCollectingMetrics(sharedOperationData.tCtx, sharedOperationData.metricsData.collectorWG, sharedOperationData.podInformer, tc.MetricsCollectorConfig, sharedOperationData.metricsData.throughputErrorMargin, opIndex, concreteOp.Name, concreteOp.Namespaces, concreteOp.LabelSelector)
-}
-
-func runStopCollectingMetricsOp(opIndex int, w *workload, sharedOperationData *sharedOperationData) {
-	items := stopCollectingMetrics(sharedOperationData.tCtx, sharedOperationData.metricsData.collectorCtx, sharedOperationData.metricsData.collectorWG, w.Threshold, *w.ThresholdMetricSelector, opIndex, sharedOperationData.metricsData.collectors)
-	sharedOperationData.workloadState.dataItems = append(sharedOperationData.workloadState.dataItems, items...)
-	sharedOperationData.metricsData.collectorCtx = nil
-}
-
-func runDefault(opIndex int, concreteOp realOp, sharedOperationData *sharedOperationData) {
+func doDefaultOp(tCtx ktesting.TContext, opIndex int, concreteOp realOp, numPodsScheduledPerNamespace map[string]int) {
 	runable, ok := concreteOp.(runnableOp)
 	if !ok {
-		sharedOperationData.tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: invalid op %v", opIndex, concreteOp)
+		tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: invalid op %v", opIndex, concreteOp)
 	}
 	for _, namespace := range runable.requiredNamespaces() {
-		createNamespaceIfNotPresent(sharedOperationData.tCtx, namespace, &sharedOperationData.workloadState.numPodsScheduledPerNamespace)
+		createNamespaceIfNotPresent(tCtx, namespace, &numPodsScheduledPerNamespace)
 	}
-	runable.run(sharedOperationData.tCtx)
+	runable.run(tCtx)
 }
 
-func runOperation(tc *testCase, opIndex int, op op, w *workload, sharedOperationData *sharedOperationData) {
-	realOp, err := op.realOp.patchParams(w)
-	if err != nil {
-		sharedOperationData.tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, err)
+func doStartCollectingMetricsOp(tCtx ktesting.TContext, opIndex int, concreteOp *startCollectingMetricsOp, collectorCtx *ktesting.TContext, collectors *[]testDataCollector, collectorWG *sync.WaitGroup, podInformer coreinformers.PodInformer, tc *testCase, throughputErrorMargin float64) {
+	if *collectorCtx != nil {
+		tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: Metrics collection is overlapping. Probably second collector was started before stopping a previous one", opIndex)
 	}
-	select {
-	case <-sharedOperationData.tCtx.Done():
-		sharedOperationData.tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, context.Cause(sharedOperationData.tCtx))
-	default:
-	}
-	switch concreteOp := realOp.(type) {
-	case *createNodesOp:
-		runCreateNodesOp(opIndex, concreteOp, sharedOperationData)
-	case *createNamespacesOp:
-		runCreateNamespacesOp(opIndex, concreteOp, sharedOperationData)
-	case *createPodsOp:
-		runCreatePodsOp(tc, w, opIndex, concreteOp, sharedOperationData)
-	case *deletePodsOp:
-		runDeletePodsOp(opIndex, concreteOp, sharedOperationData)
-	case *churnOp:
-		runChurnOp(opIndex, concreteOp, sharedOperationData)
-	case *barrierOp:
-		runBarrierOp(opIndex, concreteOp, sharedOperationData)
-	case *sleepOp:
-		runSleepOp(concreteOp, sharedOperationData)
-	case *startCollectingMetricsOp:
-		runStartCollectingMetricsOp(opIndex, tc, concreteOp, sharedOperationData)
-	case *stopCollectingMetricsOp:
-		runStopCollectingMetricsOp(opIndex, w, sharedOperationData)
-	default:
-		runDefault(opIndex, concreteOp, sharedOperationData)
+	*collectorCtx, *collectors = startCollectingMetrics(tCtx, collectorWG, podInformer, tc.MetricsCollectorConfig, throughputErrorMargin, opIndex, concreteOp.Name, concreteOp.Namespaces, concreteOp.LabelSelector)
+}
+
+func runJobs(tCtx ktesting.TContext, tc *testCase, w *workload, informerFactory informers.SharedInformerFactory, throughputErrorMargin float64) {
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	defer wg.Wait()
+	defer tCtx.Cancel("workload is done")
+	numPodsScheduledPerNamespace := make(map[string]int)
+	nextNodeIndex := 0
+	podInformer := informerFactory.Core().V1().Pods()
+	var collectors []testDataCollector
+	// This needs a separate context and wait group because
+	// the metrics collecting needs to be sure that the goroutines
+	// are stopped.
+	var collectorCtx ktesting.TContext
+	var collectorWG sync.WaitGroup
+	defer collectorWG.Wait()
+	var dataItems []DataItem
+	for opIndex, op := range unrollWorkloadTemplate(tCtx, tc.WorkloadTemplate, w) {
+		realOp, err := op.realOp.patchParams(w)
+		if err != nil {
+			tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, err)
+		}
+		select {
+		case <-tCtx.Done():
+			tCtx.Fatalf("op %d: %v", opIndex, context.Cause(tCtx))
+		default:
+		}
+		switch concreteOp := realOp.(type) {
+		case *createNodesOp:
+			doCreateNodesOp(tCtx, opIndex, concreteOp, &nextNodeIndex)
+
+		case *createNamespacesOp:
+			doCreateNamespaceOp(tCtx, opIndex, concreteOp, numPodsScheduledPerNamespace)
+		case *createPodsOp:
+			doCreatePodsOp(tCtx, opIndex, concreteOp, numPodsScheduledPerNamespace, &dataItems, w, &collectors, &collectorWG, throughputErrorMargin, podInformer, tc, &collectorCtx)
+			if collectorCtx != nil {
+				defer collectorCtx.Cancel("cleaning up")
+			}
+		case *deletePodsOp:
+			doDeletePodsOp(tCtx, opIndex, concreteOp, podInformer, &wg)
+
+		case *churnOp:
+			doChurnOp(tCtx, opIndex, concreteOp, &wg)
+
+		case *barrierOp:
+			doBarrierOp(tCtx, opIndex, concreteOp, numPodsScheduledPerNamespace, podInformer)
+
+		case *sleepOp:
+			select {
+			case <-tCtx.Done():
+			case <-time.After(concreteOp.Duration.Duration):
+			}
+
+		case *startCollectingMetricsOp:
+			doStartCollectingMetricsOp(tCtx, opIndex, concreteOp, &collectorCtx, &collectors, &collectorWG, podInformer, tc, throughputErrorMargin)
+			defer collectorCtx.Cancel("cleaning up")
+
+		case *stopCollectingMetricsOp:
+			doStopCollectingMetrics(tCtx, &collectorCtx, opIndex, &dataItems, w, collectors, &collectorWG)
+
+		default:
+			doDefaultOp(tCtx, opIndex, concreteOp, numPodsScheduledPerNamespace)
+		}
 	}
 }