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An Introduction to Data-Driven Testing in Selenium WebDriver

When new functions (or capabilities) become available to a website product Test instances (or test suites) should be created in order to evaluate the latest features. Before adding a brand new test case, it is essential to have the appropriate answers to some of the questions below:

  • Do we really have to come up with a brand new test case in order to test the capabilities?
  • Functionality? Can you modify an existing test scenario to accommodate the requirements of the feature being tested?
  • Are there ways to modify the current test setup to allow the "product features" can be tested against various inputs (or set of data)?
  • Do we need to include an additional test execution if there are no significant changes in your business policies?
  • Do you know of a better way to isolate tests from implementation?

The answers to the questions listed above can be found in Data-Driven Testing in Selenium WebDriver.


What is Driven Testing?

Data-Driven Testing is a technique where a sequence of tests script is repeated over various input values that are retrieved from the relevant data source. It is among the most widely used methods of automation testing to test the performance and efficacy of tests dealing with various input values.

Here are the most well-known external data feeds or data sources for testing driven by data:

  • Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets (.xls, .xlsx)
  • CSV Files (.csv)
  • XML Files (.xml)
  • MS Access Tables (.mdb)

Data feeds or sources do not just contain the input data that are used in Selenium automation tests, but they could be used for the storage of the expected test outcome as well as the test output. This can be helpful in studying the test result and then storing it to refer to later phases.

Benefits of Data-Driven Testing

One of the major benefits from Data-Driven Testing are:


  • Data-Driven Testing accelerates the process of effectively performing regression tests on the functions of a web-based product. Regression tests can be utilized to validate the workflow logic with different values stored in other data sources.
  • Data-driven Tests are more simple to maintain as their test-related logic can be distinct from the data used to test the logic. Thus, even minor business rules modifications may only lead to new scenarios, as well as additional data sets that the tests are verified.
  • Data-Driven Tests can be useful for keeping records since they allow you to keep track of the status of test execution as well as those inputs against the test automation. testing automation was executed.
  • Data-Driven Testing is a preferred method of testing an application (or web-based product) against a massive data set. The data set could contain input values for both negative and positive test scenarios and can be used to improve test coverage and efficiency.

After we've explained the fundamentals about data-driven testing, let's examine how to use the Data-Driven Framework in Selenium WebDriver and the way data-driven testing within Selenium WebDriver can be achieved by using Apache POI.

A Data-Driven Framework in Selenium WebDriver

Data-Driven Testing Framework in Selenium is among the most popular automation testing frameworks that let you create iterative design and testing. Based on data-driven testing concepts, a Data-Driven Framework is utilized to drive tests or test suites using external data sources such as Excel Sheets (xls, xlsx), CSV files (CSV), and so on. The test script is connected to the information source (or feed) for the necessary actions using the sample data.

Utilizing Data-Driven Framework Data Driven Framework in SeleniumWebDriver The testing data is isolated from the test code and reduces the time and effort required in maintaining and changing testing code. Only minor changes to the business rules will require modifications to the data sets of the test without requiring any (or any) changes to the testing code.

Selenium WebDriver allows you to perform automated cross-browser testing using web-based applications, however, it isn't equipped with the capability to perform create, read, update or erase (CRUD) operations on data feeds from outside sources like Excel spreadsheets, CSV files, and many more. This is the reason third-party APIs such as Apache POI should be utilized as they let you access and perform pertinent operations on sources of data.

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