Automation Testing is one of the most important additions to the web Development Industry. Using this testing method, the developers can significantly reduce the overall testing period. For instance, a recent study shows that Automation testing takes less than 2 days compared to almost 5 days for manual test cases.
Test automation also helps the web developers to incorporate advanced methodologies like Agile and DevOps in the testbench. Using this feature, the companies can improve the coordination between different teams of the developing company. Selenium is one of the most important frameworks to initiate automation testing. Developers can use this framework to verify the cross-browser compatibility of their web applications. However, many developers often complain about the stability and reliability of a selenium test case.
With this article, we will try to find all the important factors that the developers must remember while writing the test plan for Selenium automation testing. Experts believe that the design and scalability of selenium test cases are often an area of concern. As a developer, you must remember that you cannot use the one-size-fits-all rule for test automation processes. So, before discussing the important factors, let us learn more about Selenium and cross-browser compatibility testing.
What is Cross-Browser Testing
During the early years of software development, there weren’t many options available in the market. For instance, the desktop was the only platform to access the internet and Internet Explorer was the only available browser. However, with the advancement of technology and the passage of time, everything has taken a quick turn. Currently, users can access the internet on desktops, smartphones, tablets and many other smart devices. The browser industry has also seen a lot of evolution. A recent market survey shows that thousands of browsers are released every day. In the desktop market, Google Chrome holds the top position followed by Safari in second place and finally Mozilla Firefox in the third position. In the Mobile counterpart, Google Chrome still maintains its domination, again Safari in third and Samsung Browser in the third position.
Along with the different types of browsers, the developers also have to consider all the different versions of a browser. So, it is practically impossible for an individual to perform all these testing processes manually. By using automated cross-browser testing, the developer can easily solve this problem. It will allow the web developing company to automatically verify the functioning of the web application on thousands of different browsers, operating systems and devices. The developers can use different frameworks to initiate automated cross-browser compatibility test cases in the test environment.
Selenium
We can define Selenium as an open-source umbrella project. It consists of a range of different libraries and tools for supporting browser automation processes. Selenium also provides a playback tool. The developers can use this tool to author functional test cases without having to learn different programming languages. Selenium is one of the most popular frameworks in the modern web developing industry. Currently, Selenium is on its fourth version. Although it is still in the beta phase, the developers can download it from the official website of Selenium. It supports multiple programming languages like Java, Python, Perl, PHP, Ruby and NodeJS. It usually acts as a browser driver that will execute the automation scripts on a browser instance. This instance must be present on the device of the developer.
Role of a Test Plan
Test plan plays an important role in the successful execution of the automation test case. While creating the test plan, the developers have to consider all the variations and obstacles that they might encounter. This helps them to keep all the backup processes ready. The final goal is to ensure the timely delivery of high-quality web applications. During the test plan, the developers should also consider all the tools and platforms that they will be using during the web application development life cycle. During the test plan, companies should include the opinions of different teams. This means that the development, quality assessment, production and testing team should have an equal say in this process.
Things You Must Know When Writing Test Plans for Selenium Automation Testing
Various factors influence the efficiency of Selenium automation test scripts. We have shortlisted some of the major ones that every developer must keep track of:
- Do Not Block the Sleep Calls
It is a common idea that the behaviour of the web application will depend on various external factors. This means that the network speed, access location, device capabilities and load on the server will have a significant effect on the end-user experience. All these factors make it quite challenging for the developers to predict the actual loading time for a web application. The developers block the sleep calls to handle the delay during the execution process. Selenium provides a better alternative for this process. To do this, the developers can use the Implicit Wait and Explicit Wait that will handle delays efficiently. This function can command the browser to wait for a specific duration to allow all the elements to finish loading.
- Have Appropriate Naming Systems for the Test Cases and the Test Suites
The naming system is highly essential for the test cases and test suites. There are multiple cases when you might have to revisit a test case after the production of the web application. The best example for this scenario is the time when you will be releasing future updates for the application. During this time, an improper name might confuse you about the test case that you’re looking for. Moreover, other members of a team might also require the test case that you are working on. The naming must be simple to allow everyone to communicate with it. This is one of the critical steps to ensure the proper implementation of a testing scenario.
- Always Keep the Browser Zoom Level At 100 Percent
During cross-browser testing processes, you might notice that certain test cases aren’t working perfectly on specific browsers. This process typically occurs when you are performing the test cases on outdated browsers like Internet Explorer. One of the best practices for Selenium-based Automation Testing is to set the browser zoom at 100%. You must follow this process irrespective of the browser that you are using. Using this setting, the developers can get a feeling of Native Mouse. Native Mouse in turn helps companies to set all the events to the correct coordinates. During this process, you should also use the Protected Mode Setting.
- Remember to Maximize the Browser Window
Taking the Browser Window Screenshots is one of the best practices of Selenium-based Automation Testing. The screenshots taken during the testing process helps the developers during debugging. Using this process, the key stakeholders of the company can also keep track of the project development progress. Screenshots also play a vital role in finding the cause of failure during the application testing process. For instance, it can help the developer to understand whether the failure was due to the application itself or due to an error in the test script. So, maximizing the browser window will ensure that you can capture a screenshot of the entire application. This will provide all the essential data that you might require during the debugging processes.
- Choose the Web Locator that Suites the Most
One of the challenges of Automation Testing is the modification of the script. For instance, the developers have to modify the script if there are any changes related to the locators used in a test code. Some of the most common locators used in Selenium WebDriver are ID, Link path, Name, XPath, etc. With so many options, you must choose the correct one to minimize the effect on the final test script. You must remember that every locator will test different objects on the application.
Role of Tools in Selenium Automation Testing
Selenium Automation Testing might seem very complex to the developers who are new to the industry. Companies must remember that a tiny error might cause massive losses in the final result. Various tools and platforms can help massively to simplify these processes. Currently, there are thousands of tools that are available in the market. The developer must be very careful while selecting the tool according to the web development project. This is because only the perfect tool can help them to use the full potential of the testing framework. As a developer, you must consider your company’s budget, preferences and knowledge of programming languages during the tool selection process. Having proper knowledge about the modern test automation Trends will also benefit during this process. Let us elaborate this concept with LambdaTest as an example:
LambdaTest is a cross browser testing platform to verify the browser compatibility of multiple web applications. Using this platform, the developers can verify the browser compatibility of both mobile and desktop web applications. on more than 3000 different types of browsers and OS combinations. It simplifies the testing processes by allowing the developers to integrate parallel testing.
Parallel testing is the process of initiating multiple test instances simultaneously. This means you can verify the functioning of different combinations of browsers and operating systems at the same time. LambdaTest runs all the test cases on a cloud-based grid using different frameworks like Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, Puppeteer and more. It also combines the test results from different emulators, virtual machines and even real devices.
Another important process is to verify the trustworthiness of a tool between integrating it into the test bench. The easiest process to complete this process is to check for user reviews on multiple online forums. On these forums, the developers will find the daily life experiences of all the users who are currently using that tool or platform.
The Conclusion
So, we can conclude that Selenium Automation Testing is one of the important aspects of the modern web development industry. The developers should try everything in their power to make themselves accustomed to these modern web development technologies. Companies should also conduct proper training sessions for this process.
Adequate knowledge and experience in test automation will help the developers to utilise the full potential of a test bench. Developers should also consider Automation Testing as an excellent way to improve their portfolio. In this competitive Development Industry, you should use all modern technologies to maintain the stand of a company. These Technologies will also help you to increase your market share in the coming years.
