Integrating Performance Testing Tools | Test Automation Framework Development | Part XII

About the Video

Watch this video to learn how to seamlessly integrate performance testing tools into your test automation framework.

Join 𝑨𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝑨𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒗 (@𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒏), Co-Founder & CTO of Automate The Planet Ltd, in Part 12 of the Advanced Test Automation Framework Development series as he demonstrates how to integrate performance testing tools with Selenium.

Anton also covers using Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP), BiDirectional APIs, Google Lighthouse, and LambdaTest’s automation testing capabilities for analyzing performance. He also dives into topics like geolocation testing, network throttling, Progressive Web Applications (PWAs), and Single Page Applications (SPAs).

Additionally, you'll learn how to implement key performance metrics, create custom assertions, and use Lambda Hooks.

Video Chapters

00:00 - Introduction

03:55 - Performance Testing Tools in Selenium

11:01 - Overview of PWA and SPA Applications

18:17 - Introduction to Google Lighthouse

22:36 - How to Integrate Performance Testing Tools With Selenium?

01:04:10 - Closing Words

Key Topics Covered

Using Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) for Performance Analysis

The video emphasizes the integration of Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) with Selenium 4 to perform performance testing and analysis.

CDP enables developers to emulate various browser behaviors like network throttling, geolocation simulation, and capturing performance metrics such as first contentful paint and largest contentful paint.

Integrating Google Lighthouse for Web Performance Auditing

Google Lighthouse is introduced as an open-source tool for auditing performance, accessibility, SEO, and best practices of web applications.

The framework integrates Lighthouse to generate detailed reports during automated test execution. These reports are vital for tracking performance metrics like load times and progressive web application (PWA) compliance.

Emulating Different Network Conditions

By leveraging both CDP emulations and LambdaTest's native capabilities, the framework can simulate various network conditions like 3G, 4G, and 5G, or even test offline behavior.

The importance of testing in different network environments is highlighted, especially for applications served via Content Delivery Networks (CDN), where performance may vary based on geographic location.

Geolocation and Timezone Overrides

The framework integrates geolocation and timezone overrides, using both CDP and LambdaTest APIs. This helps test location-based features such as language adaptations, map features, and localized content.

Such tests ensure that applications work correctly in different regions and environments, adjusting content dynamically based on the user's location.

Progressive Web Applications (PWA) Testing

PWAs, which provide app-like experiences via web technologies, are discussed in detail. The framework tests offline capabilities, caching, and background updates—crucial features of PWAs.

It also tests service workers and ensures that PWAs work well under poor network conditions or when users are offline.

Single Page Applications (SPA) Performance Testing

The framework includes performance analysis for Single Page Applications (SPAs) like Gmail or Twitter. SPAs load a single HTML page and dynamically update content without reloading the entire page.

Performance issues like slow initial load times and memory leaks are identified and resolved using tools provided by the framework.

Capturing Network Traffic and Metrics

The integration allows the framework to capture network requests and responses during test execution. This helps assess whether resources are fetched from cache or server and track response times.

Developers can also analyze resource loading patterns and sizes to detect performance bottlenecks.

Custom Plugins for Performance Testing

The video demonstrates how to extend the automation framework with custom plugins for performance testing. These plugins allow the framework to emulate network conditions, capture performance metrics, and integrate Lighthouse reports seamlessly.

Plugins are designed to be modular, allowing easy updates and modifications for different test scenarios.

LambdaTest Integration

The framework integrates with LambdaTest, utilizing its capabilities for network throttling, geolocation, and performance analysis.

It showcases how LambdaTest's built-in features, such as Google Lighthouse integration, can be used to generate performance reports, which can be further analyzed and acted upon.

Optimizing Tests for Performance

Emphasizes the need to selectively enable performance metrics and network emulations for specific tests, as enabling them for all tests can significantly slow down test execution.

The framework provides options for asserting performance metrics, ensuring that key indicators like load times and response times remain within acceptable thresholds.

Handling Performance Reports and Metrics

The framework converts Lighthouse reports and other performance data into JSON objects for further analysis.

Developers can automate the assertion of performance thresholds (e.g., page load times or first contentful paint), ensuring that any regression in performance is caught early during the CI/CD process.

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