Web Automation Framework Trend ⇒ Selenium WebDriver

The only automation framework that is W3C Compliant

Zhimin Zhan
5 min readMar 7, 2021

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The above is a slide in my Web Test Automation with Selenium WebDriver training, created in 2018.

Table of Contents:
· Traditional Testing Tools
Developer-focused Testing library/tools
Free Open-Source Frameworks
· Show case: Facebook uses WebDriver for all its End-to-End Testing
· How about JavaScript test automation frameworks such as Cypress, TestCafe, and Puppeteer?

Traditional Testing Tools

With the rise of Selenium WebDriver, there are generally three outcomes for those commercial testing tools (usually very expensive).

1. Change to support Selenium WebDriver

  • HP QTP → Micro Focus UFT → LeanFT (supports Selenium WebDriver)

HP was “the industry leader” of test automation before selling its testing tool business to Micro Focus in 2017. Micro Focus is now a Selenium Level Sponsor of Selenium WebDriver.

2. Try to link to Selenium WebDriver somehow

Ranorex, SmartBear, Applitools, .., etc. are the Selenium Level Sponsors of Selenium WebDriver.

While these vendors are still selling their proprietary testing tools, they are sponsoring Selenium WebDriver. The message shall be quite clear.

3. Phasing out the market

IBM Rational Functional Tester (RFT) was the chosen test automation tool by the Gartner Report 2013. However, I haven’t heard RFT being mentioned in the last five years.

I used RFT before (~2013), and the tool was terrible and totally unnecessary. It did not run the test if your last opened IE window was on the second screen! Here is a related support ticket: “Rational Functional Tester support policy for dual screens” on IBM’s support site, still unresolved (last updated: 2018).
Frustrated, I created a Java project in RFT (effectively Eclipse with RFT plugin), added Selenium WebDriver Java libraries, got the test task completed on the same day. The…

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Zhimin Zhan

Test automation & CT coach, author, speaker and award-winning software developer. Help teams succeed with Agile/DevOps by implementing real Continuous Testing.