Why automated assertions validate responses in Postman - Test Execution Impact

Test Overview

This test sends a request to an API endpoint and uses automated assertions to check if the response status is 200 and the response body contains the expected data. It verifies that the API works correctly and returns the right information.

Test Code - Postman

Postman

pm.test("Status code is 200", function () {
    pm.response.to.have.status(200);
});

pm.test("Response has expected user name", function () {
    const jsonData = pm.response.json();
    pm.expect(jsonData.name).to.eql("John Doe");
});

Execution Trace - 4 Steps

Step	Action	System State	Assertion	Result
1	Test starts and sends GET request to API endpoint	Postman sends request to https://api.example.com/user/123	-	PASS
2	Receives response with status 200 and JSON body	Response status: 200 OK, Body: {"id":123,"name":"John Doe"}	-	PASS
3	Runs assertion to check status code is 200	Response status is 200	pm.response.to.have.status(200)	PASS
4	Runs assertion to check response body contains name 'John Doe'	Response JSON parsed, name field found	pm.expect(jsonData.name).to.eql("John Doe")	PASS

Failure Scenario

Failing Condition: Response status is not 200 or name field is missing or different

Execution Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the first assertion check in this test?

A That the response status code is 200

B That the response body contains the word 'user'

C That the request was sent successfully

D That the response time is less than 1 second

Key Result

Automated assertions help quickly and reliably check if API responses meet expected conditions, saving time and reducing human error in testing.