Verify login functionality using BDD style

Preconditions (1)

Step 1: Given the user is on the login page

Step 2: When the user enters username 'testuser' and password 'Test@1234'

Step 3: And clicks the login button

Step 4: Then the user should be redirected to the dashboard page

Step 5: And the welcome message 'Welcome testuser!' should be displayed

✅ Expected Result: User successfully logs in and sees the dashboard with the welcome message

Automation Requirements - Cucumber with Selenium WebDriver

Assertions Needed:

Verify current URL is dashboard URL

Verify welcome message text matches 'Welcome testuser!'

Best Practices:

Use Given-When-Then structure for test steps

Use Page Object Model for page interactions

Use explicit waits for elements to be visible before interacting

Keep test steps readable and reusable

Automated Solution

Testing Fundamentals

import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.ExpectedConditions;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.WebDriverWait;
import io.cucumber.java.en.*;
import static org.junit.Assert.*;

public class LoginSteps {
    private WebDriver driver;
    private WebDriverWait wait;

    public LoginSteps() {
        // Assume driver is initialized elsewhere and passed here
        this.driver = DriverManager.getDriver();
        this.wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, 10);
    }

    @Given("the user is on the login page")
    public void user_on_login_page() {
        driver.get("https://example.com/login");
        wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(By.id("login-form")));
    }

    @When("the user enters username {string} and password {string}")
    public void user_enters_credentials(String username, String password) {
        WebElement usernameField = wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(By.id("username")));
        WebElement passwordField = driver.findElement(By.id("password"));
        usernameField.clear();
        usernameField.sendKeys(username);
        passwordField.clear();
        passwordField.sendKeys(password);
    }

    @When("clicks the login button")
    public void user_clicks_login() {
        WebElement loginButton = driver.findElement(By.id("login-button"));
        loginButton.click();
    }

    @Then("the user should be redirected to the dashboard page")
    public void verify_dashboard_url() {
        wait.until(ExpectedConditions.urlContains("/dashboard"));
        String currentUrl = driver.getCurrentUrl();
        assertTrue("URL should contain /dashboard", currentUrl.contains("/dashboard"));
    }

    @Then("the welcome message {string} should be displayed")
    public void verify_welcome_message(String expectedMessage) {
        WebElement welcomeMsg = wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(By.id("welcome-message")));
        assertEquals(expectedMessage, welcomeMsg.getText());
    }
}

This code uses Cucumber annotations to map BDD steps to Java methods.

@Given opens the login page and waits for the form to appear.

@When enters username and password with explicit waits to ensure fields are ready.

@When clicks the login button.

@Then verifies the URL contains '/dashboard' to confirm redirection.

@Then checks the welcome message text matches the expected string.

Explicit waits ensure elements are ready before interaction, avoiding flaky tests.

Assertions confirm the expected outcomes clearly.

This structure follows BDD style with readable steps matching the manual test case.

Common Mistakes - 4 Pitfalls

Not using explicit waits before interacting with elements

Hardcoding URLs or messages inside test methods

Mixing test logic and UI interaction code in step definitions

Skipping assertions or verifying only partial outcomes

Bonus Challenge

Now add data-driven testing with 3 different username and password combinations

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