Category Archives: Automation

Test Automation for Demandware SiteGenesis with XLT

Demandware, Inc., a leading on-demand ecommerce platform provider, offers a fast and ready to use storefront implementation called SiteGenesis. Implementation partners are using that as a template to implement customized storefronts. This means that testing is part of the effort of course.

Testing a storefront can be a tedious task. It often consists of regression testing to ensure that the already properly tested functionality is still doing well after a bug fix. Additionally a lot of development processes are agile nowadays. You do not want to go back and start testing again, when you get a new iteration, do you? So what to do?

Test automation to the rescue! We are going to provide you an initial test suite that covers most bases and can act as a template for your test automation effort. The test suite runs with Xceptance LoadTest Script Developer and is well documented.

Watch this short introductory video and get an idea what you can achieve with proper test automation.

The test automation suite can be downloaded right here: XLT SiteGenesis Test Automation Suite.

If you are taking part in the development of SiteGenesis because you joined Demandware’s Open Collaboration Model and got access to GitHub, you can also get the latest version of the test suite straight from the repository. We are of course always interested to get your feedback, so fork the suite and let us know.

You need Xceptance LoadTest (XLT) and Mozilla Firefox to get the test suite running. Windows, Linux, MacOS? Any OS is fine. XLT is free of charge. No strings attached.

If you are interested in your own version of the test suite, you want achieve a broader coverage, or your simple need a hint how to proceed, let us know. If you need support for XLT, you can purchase it right here: XLT Service Portal.

P.S. We do not provide you an instance of SiteGenesis for testing. You have to be a signed up partner or customer of Demandware to get your own test instance.

Handle authentication during WebDriver testing

Sometimes authentication is necessary before a test case can be executed. While HtmlUnit based tests can easily enter and confirm authentication requests, most browser based tests, cannot workaround the dialog. This is a browser security measure to prevent automated data capture and/or data entering. WebDriver for Firefox delivers a solution for that problem, but IE and Chrome rely on a manual interaction with the browser before the test automation can run.

The following steps describe a solution for the authentication problem and how to run a script test case as WebDriver based test. The key to this solution is the usage of Sikuli, an image based testing tool that directly interacts with the screen to find the right elements by using the screen.
Continue reading Handle authentication during WebDriver testing

Why Test Automation Costs Too Much

I got a pretty nice link today. Check out that short article about the usual obstacles when trying or applying test automation: Why Test Automation Costs Too Much. Elisabeth covers the aspects of disconnected teams and the often practiced sharp distinction between programmers and testers pretty well.

Bottom line: the reason test automation costs so much is that it’s done in a silo far removed from the development effort.

Buffered from the consequences of design decisions that decrease testability, the developers continue to create software that’s nigh onto impossible to automate.

And isolated from the technical expertise of how the software was constructed, the test automation specialists are in a situation where they cannot help but be both inefficient and ineffective.

Enjoy reading!