High level discussion of web application test automation using the Selenium framework with the Page Object Model design pattern. Focused on concepts, not much code.

1. Automation, Selenium WebDriver
and Page Objects
Andrew Boyer

2. Developing Automation

3. –Andrew Boyer
“Automation code is production code.”

4. Developing Automation
Get dev buy-in to help extend and maintain
framework
Choose a good language
Use good development practices
Show benefit of test automation

5. Good Development Practices
Object-oriented Design
Don’t Repeat Yourself (DRY)
Launch and Iterate
Code Every Day

6. But Wait, There’s More!
May Also Need Domain Expertise
Particularly for Specialty Areas
Big Data
Machine Learning
Bioinformatics

7. Fluent Programming
HomePage page = driver.load(HOME_PAGE);
page.setUser(user);
page.setPassword(password);
page.clickLogin();
ProfilePage profile = page.openProfile();
- vs -
ProfilePage page = HomePage
.login(user, password)
.openProfile();

8. Web Automation

9. Web Automation
Driver
Page Objects
Test Methods

10. When To Automate?
In True TDD, Automate Up Front
For Most Projects, Automate After UI Stabilizes

11. Driver Classes

12. Driver Classes
Allows Replacing Implementation
Handle Multiple Windows
Custom Extensions
e.g. isPresentNoWait

13. Driver Classes (2)
Native Javascript Goes Here
onClick Events Sometimes Required
Timeout Management
Actions.perform()
Use WebDriver, not RC

14. System Dialogs
Warning:
Selenium Can’t Touch System Dialogs
Like “Save File”
(but alerts are ok)

15. Page Object Classes

16. Page Object Classes
Represents A Single Page
Locators, Elements, and Operations
Handles Synchronization
Use OO For Similar Pages

17. Locators
Speed and Fragility Most Important
ID > CSS > XPath
Generators Create Poor Locators, Tune Them

18. Components
Common Reusable Objects For Shared Page Elements
Footer
Header
Menu Bar
Component Object Becomes Member Of Pages
See Also SlowLoadableComponent

19. Synchronization
Bad Synchronization Most Common Cause For
Flaky Tests
Page Objects Should Handle Synchronization
With Application
Prevent Test Writers From Needing To Repeat
Themselves

20. PageFactory
Initializes WebElements
Call After Page Load In Browser
Useful Place For Extensions Like Optional
WebElements

21. Test Classes

22. Test Classes
Should Rarely Call Driver Functions
Avoid Explicit Waits
Fail Fast
Don’t Retest Things

23. Assertions
Keep Assertions In Tests
Avoid Implicit Waits For Non-present
WebElements
Test Failure vs. Broken Test
Assert vs. Verify

24. Hamcrest Matchers
More Human-readable Conditions
Increased Logical Complexity

25. Additional Pieces

26. Additional Pieces
Test Case Management System
Reporting
Test Data Fixtures

27. Tagging and Grouping
Tests
Different Run Cadences (Smoke, Regression)
Run Single Test
Run Tests Based on Feature
Run Tests Based on Requirement

28. Build Tools
Ant / Maven / Make / Gradle
Continuous Integration / Deployment (Jenkins, Bamboo,
TeamCity)
Version Control (Git, Svn, Perforce)
Static Inspections (FindBugs, CheckStyle)
Cloud Services (AWS, Google, Microsoft)
Devops Scripting (Puppet, Chef, Docker, Bash)

29. Hypothetical
How would you handle promotion testing when a
new feature replaces and old feature, and the
automation for each is incompatible?

30. It Varies
Automation Framework Needs Its Own Release
Process
Features Should Be Hidden Behind A Flag
Test Groups Should Control What Gets Run
Where

31. Related Technologies

32. Related Tools
SQL (esp. Transactions)
SGML-related (HTML, XML, CSS, XPath)
Javascript / JQuery
Dependency Injection (Spring)
Browser Dev Consoles (+ Firebug)
Networking (RFCs, Charles Proxy, Wireshark)

33. Getting Started

34. –Michael C. Feathers
Working Effectively With Legacy Code
“We feel overwhelmed. It isn’t going to get any
better.”

35. Getting Started
Start Small!
Selenium IDE, Then Export
codecademy.com

36. Questions?