With the need to extensively test new features across several platforms, QA engineers now have more duties. Experts in quality assurance can speed thorough testing and minimize human labor by utilizing reliable, well-established open-source tools such as Selenium. Nonetheless, you must be aware of recommended practices if you want to maximize the results of your Selenium testing.
What is Selenium?
Selenium is a widely used open-source tool for testing web applications. These Selenium tests can be executed across different browsers and operating systems.
As an excellent resource for automating web application testing, Selenium helps evaluate how effectively web applications perform on multiple browsers and operating systems. Its versatility and effectiveness make it a valuable tool for streamlining and enhancing the testing process of web applications.
The following should always be considered when creating Selenium tests:
- Make sure your Selenium tests are brief.
- Use the Selenium WebDriver only if you are confident in your ability to operate the scripts and tools.
.
Benefits of Using Selenium
Selenium offers several key advantages for web application testing:
- Parallel Test Execution:
Selenium allows for concurrent execution of multiple tests, significantly reducing the time required for test cycles. This parallel execution capability ensures faster feedback and more efficient testing processes.
- Quick and Easy Test Execution:
Write tests in a way that allows them to be executed quickly and easily.
- Focused and Simple Tests:
Design tests to target specific functionalities or behaviors without unnecessary complexity. Focused tests are easier to maintain and more effective in pinpointing issues.
- Accompany New Features with Tests:
Ensure that new features and changes are accompanied by automated tests.
In an agile development environment, Selenium is typically used in the following ways:
- Regression Testing:
To ensure that existing features continue to function correctly after new code is introduced.
- Verification of New Features:
To confirm that new functionalities work as expected before they are released to production.
- Evaluating Test Coverage
In software testing, test coverage is an essential measure. It offers information about how much code or functionality is tested. Assessing test coverage facilitates the identification of problem areas and directs the development of new test cases for enhanced coverage.
Selenium may be smoothly integrated with LambdaTest, a cloud-based platform for test orchestration and execution powered by AI. It gives developers and testers the ability to attain complete test coverage, guaranteeing exhaustive testing across a range of web browsers online. Your test suites will be more reliable thanks to LambdaTest’s ability to enable wider test coverage.
Best Practices for Selenium Testing
Here are some key practices to consider:
Employ Data-Driven Testing to Determine Parameters
It is important to test a website (or online application) using many browser, device, and OS combinations (i.e., numerous datasets). It is not scalable to hard code test values in test automation scripts since this could result in repeating test code.
Parameterization is a better way to use Selenium for data-driven automated testing. Running test cases against various input combinations (or data sets) is made easier via parameterization. The test coverage improves with increasing data set size. As a result, better Selenium test techniques are used and product quality is raised.
Employing Wait Commands
Address synchronization issues inherent in web testing by judiciously employing wait commands. These commands ensure that the test case pauses until the anticipated element appears or the page completes loading before proceeding to the subsequent command. Selenium furnishes various wait commands such as Implicit Wait, Explicit Wait, and Fluent Wait to mitigate such challenges.
Adopting Version Control
Version control is indispensable in software development and extends to test automation endeavors. It facilitates effective management of test code alterations, issue tracking, and collaboration among team members.
Version Control Systems:
Utilize systems like Git or SVN to manage your test codebase. These tools help in tracking changes, maintaining historical versions, and collaborating efficiently with team members.
Enhance Web Page Visibility by Maximizing Browser Window
One of the initial tasks in Selenium test automation is capturing a screenshot of the web page. These screenshots serve developers in debugging and allow stakeholders to monitor product development progress. By default, Selenium doesn’t open browser windows in maximized mode, potentially impacting the accuracy of these screenshots in test reports. Maximizing the browser window right after loading the test URL ensures comprehensive capture of the entire web page.
Prioritize Web Locator Selection for Robust Automation Tests
Choosing the right locator strategy is vital to minimize the impact of UI changes on tests. Commonly employed web locators in Selenium WebDriver include ID, Name, Link Text, XPath, CSS Selector, and DOM Locator.
Locator Hierarchy:
Follow this hierarchy for optimal results: ID > Name > CSS Selector > XPath.
Formulate a Comprehensive Browser Compatibility Matrix
As there are so many different browser and operating system combinations, cross-browser testing is difficult. Formalizing a Browser Compatibility Matrix helps prioritize combinations for testing.
Creating the Matrix : Draw from product analytics, geolocation data, and audience usage patterns to minimize development and testing efforts while ensuring thorough validation across relevant browsers.
Testing Strategy
Focus on the most commonly used browser and OS combinations to ensure that your application works seamlessly for the majority of users.
Leverage Design Patterns like the Page Object Model (POM)
Maintaining and scaling Selenium test automation scripts necessitates minimizing script modifications in response to UI changes. POM addresses this challenge by centralizing web element controls into separate page classes, reducing code duplication and enhancing test maintenance. By abstracting web elements behind page objects, POM promotes code reusability and simplifies test maintenance.
Avoiding Blocking Sleep Calls
Performance of web applications can be affected by various external factors such as network speed, device capabilities, and server load. Introducing a wait command before executing actions ensures elements load adequately. Instead, use dynamic waits (Implicit, Explicit) to handle these wait commands more effectively.
Implement Logging and Reporting
Logging and reporting are crucial for identifying issues in large test suites.
- Logging: Properly placed console logs within the test code enhance understanding and help pinpoint issues.
- Reporting: Reports determine the pass/fail status of tests, track the progression of test suites, and provide corresponding test results. Automation test reports improve readability and simplify feature analysis and test coverage assessment.
Prioritization of Test Cases
Complex online applications can be difficult to test. Thus, giving some test cases more priority than others can aid in accomplishing test coverage goals. Prioritizing the execution of critical test cases is crucial for quality assurance teams.
QA teams may ensure that vital functionalities are functioning effectively by prioritizing tests and avoiding wasting time on less important elements. QA teams can finish testing within the allotted time by using an efficient and effective testing procedure that is facilitated by the identification and prioritization of test cases.
Avoid Using a Single Driver Implementation
WebDrivers in Selenium are specific to each browser and are not interchangeable. Running automated cross-browser tests on a local machine differs significantly from executing them on a continuous integration (CI) build server. In a CI environment, it is incorrect to assume that subsequent tests will always use the same WebDriver, such as Firefox WebDriver or Chrome WebDriver.
When integration tests are executed in a CI environment, they are typically configured to work with a RemoteWebDriver, which can control any target browser specified for the tests. To effectively manage different browser types and prepare your tests for simultaneous execution or parallel testing, it is best practice to use parameterization. This approach allows your code to adapt dynamically to various browsers, ensuring flexibility and robustness in your testing suite.
Avoid Code Duplication (or Wrap Selenium Calls)
A fundamental best practice in Selenium test automation is to avoid unnecessary code duplication. When accessing web elements on a page using various locators such as XPath, ID, etc., the frequently used code should be encapsulated in a separate API. This minimizes code duplication, reduces the overall code size, and enhances the maintainability of the test code.
By wrapping Selenium calls into reusable methods or classes, you streamline the maintenance of a complex test suite. This practice ensures that any changes in the underlying code need to be made in only one place, thereby making your test suite more robust and easier to manage.
Use BDD Framework with Selenium
BDD frameworks bridge the gap between business stakeholders and technical teams, enabling collaborative work on test enhancements. Gherkin files used in BDD testing include features, steps, and scenarios described using keywords like Given, When, and Then. This uniform format across different BDD frameworks simplifies the transition between frameworks, as the learning curve is minimal.
Incorporating BDD into Selenium testing aligns both business and technical perspectives, which improves product quality. BDD tests are more adaptable than TDD (Test Driven Development) tests, as changes in business or feature specifications only require minimal updates to the corresponding BDD features and scenarios. BDD tests have a longer shelf life because they are based on business and feature specifications, making this practice a vital aspect of effective Selenium testing.
Conclusion
Efficiency, dependability, and total test coverage can all be significantly increased by implementing these best practices into test automation workflows. Your test automation endeavors will be astute, well-planned, and efficient if you take the time to conceptualize test cases and create a thorough plan. This approach not only optimizes the testing process but also contributes to the delivery of high-quality software products.