What are the challenges you faced in selenium automation testing & how did you solve them?

by Riley Claire Senior Software Test Engineer

Selenium has gained huge popularity as one of the reliable open-source automation testing tools. The best thing about selenium is that it can work with popular programming languages, varied browsers and operating system platforms with ease. But, still, selenium has got its own set of challenges that needs to be dealt with accordingly depending upon the context. In this article, you will know about the five challenges of selenium automation testing and the solutions to solve them.

Following are the five selenium automation testing challenges along with the specific solutions to solve them:

1. Issue with page load: Various elements are loaded by some pages depending upon the user’s distinct behavior. Based on the user’s past actions, there are some elements that come into perspective. For example, if a nation has been selected from the dropdown lists, then cities that fall under that particular nation will load in the cities dropdown menu. When the selenium test is executed, the script may not be able to find the element’s location.

Solution: If this specific issue needs to be resolved, then explicit waits can be used in the selenium script so that elements can be provided with sufficient time to locate and upload the element.

2. The Scalability factor: Through the selenium platform, tests can be performed on any operating system or browser, but, still there is a restriction as to how many tests can run at once and how rapidly they can be performed. Only one test can be executed at once without a selenium grid.

The test procedure can be scaled by Selenium grid with the use of remote webdrivers, which, in turn, enables parallel tests to run. However, the web application cannot be tested across multiple combinations of OS and browsers. The test can only be executed on a specific OS and browser.

Solution: Cloud testing solutions can be used to test the applications across multiple browsers and OS at once.

3. Ineffective reporting activity: One of the major challenges of selenium automation testing is the lack of effective reporting. In order to tackle this issue, third-party tools such as Pytest, TestNG etc., or various other packages can be used. But, in order to use these tools, advanced programming skills are required.

Solution: There are alternate test automation tools that can be used for the sole purpose of creating detailed reports. There is no need to mention reporting steps that are covered in Selenium recordings or code. With these tools, you will be provided with in-depth reports along with trends and insights that are needed to solve test automation issues and thus improve the product’s quality.

4. Issues with identifying pop-ups: There are specific scenarios where confirmation pop-up alerts or prompts are received during test automation, but, when it comes to identifying such pop-ups, selenium is unable to do so. To automate such alerts in order to accept or close them is considered to be quite trickier. Selenium does not have the required features to handle window-based alerts.

Solution: Varied windows can be operated by Selenium WebDriver. Through WebDriver, web-based alerts can be handled by using the switchTo method, so that the pop-up can be controlled, while the browser is allowed to run in the background. If a pop-up alert needs to be managed, apply a getAlert function. Before the script is being run, a package should be imported through which a WebDriver script can be created to handle alerts.

5. Incapable in testing mobile applications: When it comes to testing mobile applications, selenium lacks the resources that are required to test mobile applications efficiently.

Solution: Tools like Appium mobile app test automation tool can be used to handle Android and iOS applications by using the WebDriver protocol. Developers and testers are getting benefitted because of the appium’s functionalities, especially when it comes to effectively testing mobile devices and applications.

Conclusion: If you are looking forward to implementing Selenium testing for your specific project, then do get connected with a globally renowned software testing services company that will provide a feasible testing strategy that is precisely in line with your project specific requirements.