How can Test Automation help with End to End Testing?

End-to-end (E2E) testing ensures that an application functions correctly from start to finish, representing how users interact with it in real-world scenarios. Automating E2E test cases for web applications significantly improves efficiency, accuracy, and reliability while reducing manual effort.

Importance of End to End Testing

Final Checkpoint Before Release - End to end testing works as a final checkpoint in a release cycle before the new features and updates are released in production.

Real world scenarios - E2E tests ensure all the components of the application are working as expected for real world scenarios.

Holistic validation - E2E tests provide a holistic view of the applications’s functionality in production.

Enhanced User Experience - Since the testing is done for the complete user experience, besides functional validations, the user experience is also validated in terms of ease of use and understanding.

New User Onboarding - With E2E tests, we can make sure that users using your application for the first time - have a seamless experience.

Reduced Churn Rate - With E2E tests, we can make sure that existing users will not experience any glitches in the current workflows of using the application.

Data integrity & Reliability - With E2E tests, the data integrity and reliability of the application can be ensured. With new features being added, there shouldn't be issues with manipulation of existing data and no impact to the new data being created. E2E tests take care of it.

Learn how to seamlessly automate E2E tests with DevAssure.

Why Automate E2E Tests?

Now that we understand the importance of end-to-end testing, let's explore why automation is essential.

1. Faster Release Cycles Manual E2E testing is time-consuming, delaying releases. Automated tests speed up the process, ensuring quicker time-to-market.

2. Consistency & Accuracy Manual testing is prone to human errors. Automation ensures consistent execution and reliable test results.

3. Scalability As applications grow, manual testing becomes impractical. Automation allows test cases to scale with the product.

4. Cost Savings in the Long Run Though initial automation setup requires effort, it reduces long-term testing costs and increases efficiency. Learn how DevAssure automates E2E testing efficiently.

Learn how DevAssure automates E2E testing efficiently.

Challenges in Automating E2E Tests

Testing Multiple Components

E2E testing involves validating UI, microservices, APIs, databases, network logs, and asynchronous operations. Integrating multiple third-party tools and libraries can be complex but is a one-time setup.

Test Stability & Flakiness

Automated E2E tests can be flaky due to dynamic elements, network delays, or inconsistent test environments. Optimizing wait strategies and implementing robust locators improve stability.

Data Management

Maintaining test data consistency across executions is critical for reliable validations. Strategies such as database seeding and API mocks can help.

Maintaining Test Scripts

With frequent application updates, test scripts need constant updates. A modular automation framework reduces maintenance overhead.

Learn how DevAssure overcomes these challenges with AI-powered automation.

Best Practices for E2E Test Automation

1. Use the Page Object Model (POM): POM improves test maintainability by separating UI interactions from test logic.
2. Implement Parallel Execution: Run tests concurrently to speed up execution time.
3. Mock External Dependencies: Reduce test flakiness by mocking APIs and network calls.
4. Optimize Wait Strategies: Use smart waits to avoid race conditions and reduce failures.
5. Regularly Maintain Test Cases: Update test scripts to accommodate UI and functionality changes.
6. Utilize CI/CD Pipelines: Automate test execution as part of continuous integration workflows.
7. Validate Network Logs & API Responses: Ensure proper API calls and data integrity across test runs.
8. Leverage No-Code Automation: Platforms like DevAssure enable faster test creation without deep coding expertise.

Example: Automating an E-commerce Purchase Flow

Scenario: Guest User Checkout with Credit Card Payment

Test Steps:

1. Navigate to the homepage and search for a product.
2. Add the product to the cart.
3. Proceed to checkout as a guest user.
4. Enter shipping details and select a delivery method.
5. Choose a credit card as the payment option and enter details.
6. Confirm the order and verify the order confirmation page.

Validations:

• Stock updates after purchase.
• Correct total price calculation (including tax and shipping).
• Confirmation email is sent with order details.
• Network calls to the payment gateway function correctly.

In the above scenario the following components need to be implemented for automating the test script

• UI Navigations and Validations - Build the page objects and identify the locators that need to be interacted with
• Validate the email reception, content and interactions
• API or Database Validations for stock updates
• Network call Validations for payment gateway

Once these components are built, the test case can be automated.

UI Navigation and Validations

Frameworks: Playwright, Selenium.

Approach: Implement Page Object Model (POM) for structured automation.

What is a Page Object Model in test automation?

A Page Object Model (POM) in test automation is a design pattern that represents each web page of an application as a separate object in code, allowing testers to interact with page elements and perform actions through dedicated methods, ultimately improving test maintainability and reducing code duplication by separating test logic from page-specific details.

Sample Playwright Page Object Model (POM) Implementation:

class CheckoutPage {
  constructor(page) {
    this.page = page;
    this.searchBar = page.locator('#search-input');
    this.addToCartButton = page.locator('#add-to-cart');
    this.checkoutButton = page.locator('#checkout');
    this.paymentOption = page.locator('#credit-card');
  }

  async searchForProduct(productName) {
    await this.searchBar.fill(productName);
    await this.page.keyboard.press('Enter');
  }

  async addToCart() {
    await this.addToCartButton.click();
  }

  async proceedToCheckout() {
    await this.checkoutButton.click();
  }

  async selectCreditCardPayment() {
    await this.paymentOption.click();
  }
}

Learn how DevAssure simplifies UI automation with no-code capabilities.

Email Validation

Tool: MailSlurp with Playwright.

Purpose: Validate email confirmation with correct order details.

For Email Validation MailSlurp with Playwright can be used. Refer to the blog for more details.

API Validation

Tool: RestAssured for API validation.

Purpose: Ensure correct stock updates and payment transactions.

Sample script:

import static io.restassured.RestAssured.*;
import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.*;
import org.junit.Test;

public class ApiTest {
    @Test
    public void testStockUpdate() {
        given()
            .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
        .when()
            .get("https://api.example.com/stock")
        .then()
            .statusCode(200)
            .body("productID", equalTo("12345"))
            .body("stock", greaterThan(0));
    }
}

4. Network call Validations

Purpose: Verify backend communication between the application and the payment gateway.

Conclusion

Automating E2E testing is crucial for delivering high-quality software with seamless user experiences. Although E2E test automation presents challenges, following best practices like using POM, optimizing test stability, and leveraging no-code platforms like DevAssure can make the process efficient and reliable.

Learn more about how DevAssure enables scalable and robust E2E test automation.

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