Reliable tests with selenium web driver

Reliable end to end tests with Selenium WebDriver Pawel Pabich, Senior Consultant at Readify blog: www.pabich.eu/blog twitter: @pawelpabich email: [email_address]

My definition of end to end (e2e) test s
Automated
Often start at the UI
Same as user acceptance test
Often used to test user stories
Often expressed using Given/When/Then
Can describe what the system does
Often slower than unit/integration test s

Reliable e2e tests provide a lot of value
Assure the code is shippable
Provide solid safety net and in this way encourage constant refactoring
Let QA focus on creative, exploratory testing

Unreliable e2e tests are harmful
Take a lot of time to investigate
Make the development process slower than if there were no e2e tests at all
Are extremely frustrating for all team members

How to write reliable e2e tests 1/2
Do NOT use Thread.Sleep. It is NEVER a good idea
ALWAYS start with unit tests and fall back to e2e tests only when unit testing is not the right tool
Focus on the happy path
Treat test code as if it was Production code
Do NOT share state between tests
Do NOT use test recorders

How to write reliable e2e tests 2/2
Navigate directly to the screen under test
Test only code you own , eg. all external systems are mocked
Create a separate set of tests for integration with live external systems
Always make sure the system is in a known initial state
Test only one scenario at a time

Summary
If you can't make it reliable do NOT write it at all. You will regret it.
Links: Code: https://github.com/pawelpabich/Reliable-e2e-tests-with-Selenium-Webdriver Selenium: http://code.google.com/p/selenium/ Our own James Crisp : http://jamescrisp.org/2011/05/30/automated-testing-and-the-test-pyramid/

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Reliable tests with selenium web driver

by PawelPabich on Jul 26, 2011

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