As digital technologies continue to advance, web applications are evolving into more sophisticated entities. This evolution presents fresh challenges for QA engineers, who must thoroughly test new features across various platforms. It’s essential to note that in today’s highly competitive digital landscape, delivering a flawless user experience is a prerequisite for a website’s success. Fortunately, reliable and well-established open-source tools such as Selenium have empowered QA engineers to reduce manual testing efforts and accelerate the execution of comprehensive tests.
However, achieving efficient results from Selenium automation testing requires a solid understanding of the applicable best practices. This article will shed light on several of these best practices aimed at helping QA professionals enhance their Selenium testing procedures.
Effective Manual Test Cases Enhance Quality Of Automation
While certain test cases may seem suitable for automation, their ability to uncover defects can be limited. Simply put, if you lack well-designed manual test cases, automation won’t deliver the desired value. Therefore, a recommended best practice is to create manual test cases in advance. Clearly outline the steps, specify the expected outcomes for each step, and maintain a clear objective for each test case. It’s essential to ensure that one test case doesn’t rely too heavily on others.
We recommend that automation engineers execute test cases manually at least once. This approach aids in determining the navigation flow and identifying the objects that require proper identification. Additionally, this practice can sometimes reveal bugs before the automation script is written. Wouldn’t you agree that it’s more advantageous to detect bugs during the development phase rather than during execution? Accelerate your release velocity with a more agile and dependable platform for automated UI testing!
Test Early And Test Frequently
In the realm of Selenium test automation, a crucial best practice is to commence testing early and do so regularly. As organizations transitioned away from the waterfall model, the role of testers evolved from being a one-time activity to becoming an integral part of development. This shift had significant implications for project timelines and costs. Consequently, the concept of shift left testing emerged, emphasizing the involvement of testers from the requirement gathering phase onwards. This proactive approach allows testers to anticipate end-user expectations and create test cases in advance. The primary objective is to preempt encountering bugs after the development phase is completed.
Testers play a pivotal role in offering valuable insights to developers, contributing to product development that enhances the user experience. Moreover, they help developers avoid practices that may harm the product. For instance, consider a scenario where a developer plans to implement a CSS Subgrid in a pricing page table for a subscription-based model. By involving the testing team early and making them aware of this choice, developers can receive timely input and guidance, preventing potential issues before development is finalized. This approach not only saves time for both developers and testers but also prevents potential system outages.
Therefore, it is imperative to initiate automated browser testing at the earliest possible stage and conduct it as frequently as necessary. Starting testing early enables the early detection of bugs, resulting in time and resource savings throughout the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).
Selecting The Right Selenium Test Automation Tool
When transitioning to automated browser testing, each company must consider its unique factors. Although there exists a wide array of Selenium test automation tools in the market, choosing the appropriate tool is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. The key lies in picking the correct Selenium test automation tool that aligns with your company’s specific requirements. For example, it’s essential to evaluate whether the chosen tool supports the platform your organization operates on. Furthermore, there are other pertinent questions to consider:
- Does the tool facilitate mobile application testing if needed?
- Which operating systems does your organization utilize, and does the tool support them?
- Does the tool offer record and playback testing capabilities?
- Can you manually create automated tests using the tool?
Crafting High-Quality Test Data
Elevate your data-driven automated browser testing by investing in creating high-quality test data. A proficient automation tool should possess a comprehensive understanding of the content within data files. Typically, testers can manually craft test data and save it to the preferred location within the company. However, some tools feature test data generators that empower users to generate Excel sheets and table variables for storing test data. Devoting considerable time and effort to producing high-quality test data proves advantageous in simplifying the automation test scripting process. Furthermore, this practice aids in the extension of existing automated tests and expedites the application development cycle.
Establish Selenium Test Automation Reports
The adage You can’t improve what you can’t measure holds true for Selenium test automation. Achieving better results in Selenium test automation necessitates tracking and evaluating test performance. Automation testing reports enhance the comprehensibility of test outcomes and reduce the effort required for maintaining test data. The generation of Selenium test automation reports can yield significant benefits, allowing you to save valuable time by managing your test data in a well-organized manner.
As a result, you achieve enhanced command over your testing processes, thanks to the invaluable data that allows for a thorough analysis of instances where test scripts encounter failures. LambdaTest, an AI-driven test orchestration and execution platform, empowers you to conduct manual and automated tests on a grand scale seamlessly. This comprehensive testing solution simplifies the entire process by offering the capability to execute your Selenium testing scripts on a cloud-based Selenium Grid.
This Selenium Grid, integrated within the LambdaTest platform, is extensive, encompassing a vast array of over 3,000 desktop and mobile browsers, thereby providing a diverse spectrum of testing environments. This amalgamation of advanced technology and extensive testing capabilities positions LambdaTest as a top-tier choice for your testing needs.
This cloud-based approach saves time and resources while ensuring compatibility across various browsers and devices. It also provides real-time access to these environments, making it easy to monitor and troubleshoot your test scripts effectively.
Avoid Automating Unstable Functionalities
It’s not uncommon for things to go awry while developing new functionalities. Occasionally, a feature may no longer be deemed necessary due to changes in business requirements. If you began automation during the development phase of functionality, you would find yourself repeatedly updating the tests, as the functionality is likely to evolve continuously. Managing numerous unforeseen changes can be exhausting, and if a functionality becomes obsolete, all the effort invested goes to waste. Therefore, a prudent approach is to automate a function only when it exhibits stability and is not subject to frequent alterations.
Employ Selenium Wait Commands Instead Of Thread. sleep()
Web applications often require time to load due to various factors like network speed, server issues, or other reasons. To address this, you must pause your scripts to wait for all elements to load properly, ensuring your tests run on fully loaded web elements. One way to pause your script is by utilizing the Thread. sleep() function, which suspends your test script for a specified duration. However, this method has a significant drawback. For instance, if you set the wait time to 6 seconds, and your website loads much faster, you waste valuable time. In faster scenarios, excessive time is consumed, while in slower ones, the result is marked as a failure. To mitigate such issues, you should incorporate implicit or explicit waits in your Selenium test automation strategy.
Designing Tests Before Automating Them
Prior to embarking on the automation of tests, it is considered a best practice to create scenarios and test cases in advance. Rushing into automation without a well-thought-out test design can carry risks. This is why test design, coupled with strategic planning, is a crucial component for achieving success in Selenium test automation. It entails developing a test architecture that outlines the structure of the test program and how it will be managed. Automating tests without proper design implies focusing solely on ensuring that the script functions, neglecting the consideration of various scenarios that contribute to comprehensive testing. Restricting the testing scope solely to achieve script success is not a prudent approach. Selenium test automation offers the flexibility to create test scripts using multiple programming languages.
Exploring The Use Of A BDD Framework
Behavior Driven Development (BDD) is a widely adopted approach in Selenium Test Automation. BDD empowers testers to craft Selenium test automation cases using simple English language, making them understandable to individuals without coding expertise. This fosters a bridge between the business and technical teams, facilitating a deeper understanding of project activities and enhancing collaboration. By scripting your Selenium test automation using BDD, you create specifications that enable your team to grasp the tests and requirements comprehensively. This not only saves time by eliminating the need to explain tests to stakeholders, as they become self-explanatory, but also invites input from the business team based on their insights into the tests and their associated business benefits.
Implementing The PageObjects Pattern
The PageObjects Pattern is a design pattern that has gained prominence in test automation due to its ability to streamline test maintenance and reduce code redundancy. It involves creating object-oriented classes that serve as interfaces to specific pages within your Application Under Test (AUT). Tests then utilize the methods defined within these page object classes when interacting with the corresponding UI pages. The advantage is that if the UI undergoes changes, the tests themselves remain unaffected, with only the code within the page object requiring adjustments. Consequently, all modifications necessary to support the new UI are consolidated in one location.
The Page Object Design Pattern offers the following benefits:
- A clear separation between test and page-specific codes, including locators and layout.
- A centralized repository for the services or operations offered by each page, eliminating the need to scatter these services throughout the tests.
For instance, a LoginPage can be reused across multiple integration tests. If the login functionality introduces new options or undergoes layout changes, adjustments are made solely within the LoginPage class, streamlining maintenance.
Conclusion
That concludes our exploration of the best practices for Selenium Test Automation. Remember, there exists a wealth of opportunities to enhance your test automation endeavors, and we trust that these practices will prove invaluable in your quest for improvement. Detecting defects early in the development process can yield remarkable benefits when conducting test automation. Additionally, it’s wise to adopt a strategic and thoughtful approach to test design and strategy before creating Selenium test automation scripts.
Whether you found these tips helpful or have additional insights to contribute, we welcome your feedback in the comments section below. In the meantime, please consider sharing this article with your fellow automation testers! Happy testing!
