Verify radio button selection on the preferences form

Preconditions (1)

Step 1: Locate the radio button group labeled 'Subscription Type'

Step 2: Select the radio button with label 'Monthly'

Step 3: Verify that the 'Monthly' radio button is selected

Step 4: Select the radio button with label 'Yearly'

Step 5: Verify that the 'Yearly' radio button is selected and 'Monthly' is not selected

✅ Expected Result: The radio buttons allow only one selection at a time. Selecting 'Monthly' marks it selected. Selecting 'Yearly' deselects 'Monthly' and marks 'Yearly' selected.

Automation Requirements - Selenium with Python

Assertions Needed:

Assert that the 'Monthly' radio button is selected after clicking it

Assert that the 'Yearly' radio button is selected after clicking it

Assert that only one radio button is selected at a time

Best Practices:

Use explicit waits to wait for elements to be clickable

Use By.ID or By.NAME locators for radio buttons

Use Page Object Model to separate page structure from test logic

Avoid hardcoded sleeps

Use clear assertion messages

Automated Solution

Selenium Python

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC
import unittest

class PreferencesPage:
    def __init__(self, driver):
        self.driver = driver
        self.monthly_radio = (By.ID, 'subscription_monthly')
        self.yearly_radio = (By.ID, 'subscription_yearly')

    def select_monthly(self):
        WebDriverWait(self.driver, 10).until(
            EC.element_to_be_clickable(self.monthly_radio)
        ).click()

    def select_yearly(self):
        WebDriverWait(self.driver, 10).until(
            EC.element_to_be_clickable(self.yearly_radio)
        ).click()

    def is_monthly_selected(self):
        return self.driver.find_element(*self.monthly_radio).is_selected()

    def is_yearly_selected(self):
        return self.driver.find_element(*self.yearly_radio).is_selected()

class TestRadioButtonSelection(unittest.TestCase):
    def setUp(self):
        self.driver = webdriver.Chrome()
        self.driver.get('http://example.com/preferences')
        self.page = PreferencesPage(self.driver)

    def tearDown(self):
        self.driver.quit()

    def test_radio_button_selection(self):
        # Select Monthly and verify
        self.page.select_monthly()
        self.assertTrue(self.page.is_monthly_selected(), "Monthly radio button should be selected")
        self.assertFalse(self.page.is_yearly_selected(), "Yearly radio button should not be selected when Monthly is selected")

        # Select Yearly and verify
        self.page.select_yearly()
        self.assertTrue(self.page.is_yearly_selected(), "Yearly radio button should be selected")
        self.assertFalse(self.page.is_monthly_selected(), "Monthly radio button should not be selected when Yearly is selected")

if __name__ == '__main__':
    unittest.main()

This test script uses Selenium with Python and unittest framework.

The PreferencesPage class is a Page Object that holds locators and actions for the radio buttons. It uses By.ID locators for the 'Monthly' and 'Yearly' radio buttons, which is a best practice for stable selectors.

Explicit waits (WebDriverWait) ensure the radio buttons are clickable before clicking, avoiding flaky tests.

The test test_radio_button_selection selects 'Monthly' first and asserts it is selected while 'Yearly' is not. Then it selects 'Yearly' and asserts the opposite. This confirms only one radio button is selected at a time.

Assertions have clear messages to help understand failures.

The setUp and tearDown methods handle browser start and cleanup.

This structure keeps test logic clean and maintainable.

Common Mistakes - 4 Pitfalls

Using time.sleep() instead of explicit waits

Using brittle XPath locators like absolute paths

Not verifying that only one radio button is selected at a time

Mixing test logic and page structure in the same code

Bonus Challenge

Now add data-driven testing with 3 different subscription types: 'Monthly', 'Yearly', and 'Weekly' (assume 'Weekly' radio button exists with ID 'subscription_weekly').

Show Hint