Test environment setup in Testing Fundamentals - Build an Automation Script

Verify test environment setup for web application testing

Preconditions (3)

Step 1: Open the test automation tool

Step 2: Launch the web browser using the automation tool

Step 3: Navigate to the test application URL 'https://example.com/login'

Step 4: Verify the login page loads successfully by checking the page title is 'Login - ExampleApp'

Step 5: Close the browser

✅ Expected Result: The login page loads successfully with the correct title, confirming the test environment is set up correctly

Automation Requirements - Selenium WebDriver with Python

Assertions Needed:

Verify browser launches successfully

Verify page title matches 'Login - ExampleApp'

Verify browser closes without errors

Best Practices:

Use explicit waits to wait for page load

Use proper locators for elements

Handle browser setup and teardown in setup and teardown methods

Keep test code clean and readable

Automated Solution

Testing Fundamentals

import unittest
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

class TestEnvironmentSetup(unittest.TestCase):
    def setUp(self):
        # Setup Chrome WebDriver
        self.driver = webdriver.Chrome()
        self.driver.maximize_window()

    def test_login_page_loads(self):
        driver = self.driver
        driver.get('https://example.com/login')

        # Wait until the title is as expected
        WebDriverWait(driver, 10).until(EC.title_is('Login - ExampleApp'))

        # Assert the page title
        self.assertEqual(driver.title, 'Login - ExampleApp')

    def tearDown(self):
        # Close the browser
        self.driver.quit()

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

This test script uses Python's unittest framework with Selenium WebDriver.

setUp() method initializes the Chrome browser and maximizes the window to ensure consistent view.

The test test_login_page_loads navigates to the login page URL and waits explicitly for the page title to be 'Login - ExampleApp' to confirm the page loaded correctly.

It then asserts the page title to verify the correct page is displayed.

The tearDown() method closes the browser to clean up after the test.

Explicit waits are used to avoid timing issues, and the code is structured for clarity and maintainability.

Common Mistakes - 3 Pitfalls

{'mistake': 'Using time.sleep() instead of explicit waits', 'why_bad': 'It causes unnecessary delays or flaky tests if the page loads faster or slower than the sleep time.', 'correct_approach': "Use Selenium's explicit waits like WebDriverWait with expected conditions to wait only as long as needed."}

Not closing the browser after test

Hardcoding element locators without validation

Bonus Challenge

Now add data-driven testing to verify the login page loads for three different URLs (e.g., staging, production, and test environment URLs).

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