Building Maintainable Selenium Test Frameworks

This 4-day intensive hands-on training course is designed for QA Engineers, Test Automation Engineers, Software Developers, and anyone involved in building and maintaining automated web test frameworks using Selenium WebDriver. It is particularly suitable for teams or individuals who want training delivered specifically in their preferred or existing programming language (Java, Python, C#, or JavaScript/TypeScript) to ensure maximum relevance and immediate applicability. It is ideal for:

• Automation Engineers building Selenium frameworks who need to learn best practices and advanced techniques.

• QA professionals transitioning to or expanding their web automation skills.

• Developers writing UI automation tests for their web applications.

• Teams adopting or standardising on Selenium WebDriver for web testing in a specific language.

Participants should have:

• Familiarity with web development concepts (HTML, CSS).

• Proficiency in at least one of the supported programming languages (Java, Python, C#, or JavaScript/TypeScript) is essential, as all code examples and labs will be delivered in the customer's chosen language.

• Experience using a command-line interface (CLI).

• Familiarity with the concept of software testing or test automation is beneficial but not strictly required.

We can customise the training to match your team's experience and needs - with more time and coverage of fundamentals for new starters, for instance.

This Selenium test automation course is available for private / custom delivery for your team - as an in-house face-to-face workshop at your location of choice, or as online instructor-led training via MS Teams (or your own preferred platform).

Get in touch to find out how we can deliver tailored training which focuses on your project requirements and learning goals.

Introduction to Selenium WebDriver

• Overview of the Selenium software suite (IDE, WebDriver, Grid).

• What is Test Automation and its benefits for web applications.

• What is the difference between Selenium WebDriver and Selenium IDE.

• Overview of Selenium WebDriver's architecture and core components.

• Getting your Browsers ready (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge) - setting up WebDriver executables.

• Lab: Setting up a basic Selenium project in the chosen language and configuring a browser.

Getting Started with Selenium WebDriver in [Chosen Language]

• Scripting Selenium using the WebDriver API in the chosen programming language.

• Basic navigation commands (get(), Maps()).

• Taking screenshots.

• Code examples and labs throughout this module will be provided in the customer's chosen language.

• Lab: Writing and running a simple test script to open a browser, navigate to a page, and take a screenshot.

Locating and Interacting with Web Elements

• Understanding the DOM structure.

• Master common locator strategies:

  • ID, Name, Class Name, Tag Name.

  • Link Text, Partial Link Text.

  • CSS Selectors.

  • XPath (basic to intermediate).

• Techniques for finding single elements and multiple elements.

• Interacting with basic web elements (e.g., clicking buttons, typing into text fields, selecting checkboxes/radio buttons).

• Code examples and labs in the chosen language.

• Lab: Practicing different locator strategies and interacting with various form elements.

Handling Synchronisation with Waits

• Why wait? Understanding synchronisation issues in web automation.

• Implicit wait.

• Explicit wait: Using WebDriverWait and expected conditions.

• Fluent wait (more advanced explicit wait).

• Best practices for using waits effectively.

• Code examples and labs in the chosen language.

• Lab: Implementing various wait strategies to handle dynamic content.

Advanced User Interactions

• Types of mouse actions (e.g., hover, right-click, drag and drop).

• Using the Actions class (or equivalent in the chosen language binding) for complex interactions.

• Chaining actions together.

• Code examples and labs in the chosen language.

• Lab: Implementing advanced mouse actions and chained actions.

Introducing the Page Object Model (POM)

• What is the Page Object Model and why is it essential for maintainable automation?

• Principles of POM: Separating UI interaction code from test logic.

• Designing Page Objects for your application.

• Implementing Page Objects in the chosen language.

• Lab: Refactoring existing test scripts into the Page Object Model.

Structuring a Selenium Test Automation Framework

• Overview of test runners suitable for Selenium automation in the chosen language (e.g., TestNG/JUnit for Java, pytest/unittest for Python, NUnit for C#, Mocha/Jest for JavaScript).

• Setting up a test project structure with a test runner.

• Using test runner annotations (setup, teardown, test methods).

• Implementing test suites.

• Utility classes and helper methods.

• Code examples and labs in the chosen language.

• Lab: Structuring a test framework project and creating test suites using a test runner.

Implementing Assertions and Handling Test Data

• What are Assertions and why are they critical for testing?

• Using assertion libraries in the chosen language to verify test outcomes.

• Strategies for managing Test Data (e.g., inline data, external files like CSV/JSON, data builders).

• Integrating test data into your tests.

• Code examples and labs in the chosen language.

• Lab: Adding assertions to Page Object tests, implementing a simple test data approach.

Advanced WebDriver Topics

• Handling Pop-ups and Alerts.

• Working with Frames (<iframe>).

• Handling Multiple Windows and Tabs.

• Performing File Uploads.

• Executing JavaScript from Selenium.

• Code examples and labs in the chosen language.

• Lab: Practicing interactions with frames, windows/tabs, and alerts.

Running Tests with Selenium Grid 4

• Getting started with Selenium Grid 4.

• When to Use a Grid for parallel and distributed testing.

• Selenium Grid Components (Hub, Nodes).

• Configuration of Components.

• Running tests on the Grid.

• Lab: Setting up a simple Grid and running tests on it.

Test Reporting and CI/CD Integration

• The importance of Test Reports for communicating results.

• Generating test reports (e.g., using test runner reporters like Surefire/Failsafe, or dedicated reporting tools like Allure Reports - overview).

• Interpreting and using test report data.

• Overview of CI/CD concepts and the role of automated tests.

• Integrating automated Selenium tests into CI/CD pipelines (High-level steps and examples for platforms like Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI).

• Handling environment-specific configurations and secrets in CI/CD.

• Code examples and labs in the chosen language (for reporting setup).

• Lab: Configuring test reporting for your framework, overview of CI/CD integration steps.

Best Practices and Troubleshooting

• Best practices for writing robust, reliable, and maintainable Selenium tests.

• Common issues and troubleshooting techniques.

• Debugging Selenium tests (e.g., using IDE debugger).

• Logging in automated tests.

• Strategies for continuous improvement of your automation framework.

• Discussion: Reviewing best practices and troubleshooting common scenarios.

• Selenium Documentation: The official and comprehensive documentation for Selenium, including detailed guides for each language binding.

  • https://www.selenium.dev/documentation/

• JUnit 5 Documentation: Official documentation for the JUnit 5 testing framework.

  • https://junit.org/junit5/docs/current/user-guide/

• TestNG Documentation: Official documentation for the TestNG testing framework.

  • https://testng.org/

• pytest Documentation: Official documentation for the pytest testing framework.

  • https://docs.pytest.org/en/stable/

• Mocha Documentation: Official documentation for the Mocha JavaScript testing framework.

  • https://mochajs.org/

• Jest Documentation: Official documentation for the Jest testing framework.

  • https://jestjs.io/docs/getting-started

• Page Object Model (POM): design pattern for creating maintainable test automation code.

  • https://www.selenium.dev/documentation/test_practices/encouraged/page_object_models/

• Selenium Grid 4 Documentation: Official guide to setting up and using Selenium Grid.

  • https://www.selenium.dev/documentation/grid/