QA & Automation
Testing Glossary

Formal testing where users verify that a system meets agreed business requirements before going live. Often the final gate before production release.

Selenium WebDriver class that handles complex interactions like hover, drag-and-drop, right-click, and multi-key combinations using the mouse and keyboard simulation API.

Testing approach aligned with Agile development where QA is embedded throughout sprints rather than deferred to a separate testing phase.

Directly testing backend APIs (REST/GraphQL/SOAP) by sending requests and validating responses — without a UI layer. Tools include RestAssured, Postman, and Playwright.

A statement in a test that checks whether an actual result matches the expected result. If false, the test fails. E.g., assertEquals("Login", driver.getTitle()).

Playwright and Cypress automatically wait for elements to be ready before interacting — eliminating the need for Thread.sleep() or manual WebDriverWait calls.

A structured set of guidelines, libraries, and tools that define how automated tests are organized, executed, and reported. Examples: TestNG, JUnit, Pytest, Mocha.

A testing methodology where tests are written in plain English using Given/When/Then syntax. Cucumber, SpecFlow, and Behave are popular BDD frameworks.

Testing without knowledge of internal code. The tester inputs data and checks outputs without knowing how the system processes it internally.

Cloud-based real device and browser testing platform. Allows running Selenium, Cypress, and Playwright tests across 3000+ real browsers and OS combinations.

A defect or flaw in software that causes unexpected behaviour. Also called defect, issue, or fault. Tracked in tools like Jira, Bugzilla, or Azure DevOps.

An automated sequence of steps — build, test, lint, deploy — that runs every time code is pushed. Orchestrated by tools like Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab CI.

Ruby acceptance testing framework for web apps that drives real browsers via Selenium or Rack::Test. Popular in Rails applications.

Protocol that allows tools like Selenium 4, Playwright, and Puppeteer to communicate directly with Chromium-based browsers for network interception, console access, and more.

Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery. CI automatically builds and tests code on every commit; CD automates deployment to staging or production environments.

Running the same test suite against multiple browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) to ensure consistent behaviour across different rendering engines.

A locator strategy that targets HTML elements using CSS syntax. E.g., #username, .btn-primary, input[type="email"]. Faster than XPath for most use cases.

BDD framework that parses Gherkin (Given/When/Then) feature files and maps them to Java/JS step definitions. Widely used in enterprise Selenium projects.

Modern JavaScript E2E testing framework that runs tests inside the browser. Known for its developer experience, time-travel debugging, and zero-config setup.

A testing approach where the same test logic runs repeatedly with different input data, typically from CSV, Excel, or JSON files. Reduces code duplication significantly.

The stages a bug travels through: New → Assigned → Open → Fixed → Retest → Closed (or Reopened). Also called the Bug Life Cycle.

Container platform that packages test environments (browser + Selenium Grid + app) into portable images. Ensures tests run identically on every machine and in CI.

The in-memory tree representation of an HTML page that browsers expose to JavaScript and WebDriver. All element locators target nodes in the DOM.

Utility (like WebDriverManager by Boni Garcia) that automatically downloads and configures the correct browser driver binary — eliminating manual ChromeDriver setup.

Testing complete user workflows from the UI layer through backend and database, mimicking real user behaviour. The most expensive but highest-confidence test type.

A strategy for identifying a UI element: ID, Name, XPath, CSS Selector, LinkText, TagName, or ClassName. Choosing stable locators is a key automation skill.

A deployed instance of the application: Dev, QA, Staging, or Production. Tests should always confirm which environment they are targeting.

Selenium class providing pre-built conditions for explicit waits: visibilityOfElementLocated, elementToBeClickable, urlContains, textToBePresentInElement, and more.

WebDriverWait + ExpectedConditions pattern that waits for a specific condition (element visible, clickable, URL change) before proceeding. Preferred over Thread.sleep().

Acronym for Facebook (Meta), Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google — elite tech companies known for rigorous SDET and QA automation interviews.

The process of investigating why a test failed — distinguishing between a genuine product bug, an environment issue, a test script bug, or a flaky assertion.

Selenium WebDriver method that returns the first matching WebElement. Throws NoSuchElementException if not found. Use findElements() for zero-match tolerance.

Setup data or environment state prepared before tests run. In Playwright: test.beforeAll. In Pytest: @pytest.fixture. In TestNG: @BeforeClass/@BeforeMethod.

A test that passes and fails non-deterministically without any code changes. Usually caused by timing issues, dynamic content, or environment inconsistencies.

Advanced Selenium wait that allows custom polling intervals and ignored exceptions, unlike WebDriverWait which polls every 500ms.

A pre-built structure for organising test code. Reduces boilerplate and enforces consistency. E.g., TestNG (Java), Pytest (Python), Mocha/Jest (JS).

Verifying that each feature of the application works as specified in the requirements. Includes UI, API, integration, and unit test levels.

HTTP method used to retrieve data from a server without modifying state. In API testing, you verify status code (200), response body, and response time.

Plain-text language used in BDD to write feature files. Keywords: Feature, Scenario, Given, When, Then, And, But. Read by Cucumber and SpecFlow.

CI/CD platform built into GitHub. Defines workflows in YAML that trigger on push/PR to build, test (run Selenium/Playwright/Cypress), and deploy automatically.

Distributed infrastructure for running Selenium tests in parallel across multiple machines and browsers. Consists of a Hub (router) and Nodes (browsers).

A browser that runs without a visible UI, consuming fewer resources. Used in CI/CD pipelines. Chrome headless: --headless flag. Firefox: -headless.

Code that runs before or after tests/suites. TestNG: @BeforeMethod/@AfterMethod. Cypress: beforeEach()/afterEach(). Playwright: test.beforeEach(). Used for setup and teardown.

Numeric code in API responses: 200 OK, 201 Created, 400 Bad Request, 401 Unauthorized, 403 Forbidden, 404 Not Found, 500 Internal Server Error.

Global timeout set once on the WebDriver instance that makes all findElement() calls wait up to N seconds before throwing. Avoid mixing with explicit waits.

Testing how different modules or services interact with each other. Sits between unit testing (isolated) and E2E testing (full stack).

Cypress cy.intercept() or Playwright page.route() — allows intercepting, stubbing, or modifying network requests during tests to simulate API responses.

Open-source CI/CD automation server. Most widely used in enterprise Java shops for running Selenium test suites as part of build pipelines.

JavaScript testing framework by Meta. Popular for unit and component testing in React apps. Often combined with Playwright for integration tests.

JavaScript Object Notation — the most common format for REST API request/response bodies. API tests validate JSON keys, values, data types, and nested structures.

Java unit testing framework. Annotations: @Test, @BeforeEach, @AfterEach, @BeforeAll, @AfterAll. Often used with Selenium for integration-level tests.

Test automation approach where test actions are represented as keywords in a spreadsheet or table. Enables non-programmers to design test cases.

Testing system behaviour under expected and peak load conditions. Tools: JMeter, k6, Gatling. Measures throughput, response time, and error rate.

Strategy for finding an element in the DOM: By.id(), By.cssSelector(), By.xpath(), By.name(), By.className(), By.linkText(). ID is fastest; XPath is most flexible.

Human-executed testing where a tester interacts with the application directly, following test cases or exploring exploratory scenarios without scripts.

Java build and dependency management tool. Manages Selenium, TestNG, and other test library versions via pom.xml. Runs tests with mvn test.

JavaScript test framework providing describe/it structure. Commonly used with Chai assertions and Sinon mocks in Node.js automation projects.

A simulated object that mimics the behaviour of a real dependency (API, database, service) to isolate the component under test.

Deliberately testing with invalid inputs, boundary violations, or unexpected user behaviour to ensure the system handles errors gracefully.

CLI tool for running Postman collections in CI/CD pipelines. Allows API test suites to run as part of GitHub Actions, Jenkins, and other pipelines.

Testing quality attributes beyond functionality: performance, security, accessibility, usability, reliability, and compatibility.

Centralised store of element locators, separate from test logic. In Selenium, this is implemented via Page Object Model or properties files.

Design pattern where each web page gets its own class with element locators and methods. Separates UI interaction from test logic, reducing maintenance cost dramatically.

Running multiple tests simultaneously across threads, machines, or browsers to reduce total execution time. Selenium Grid, Playwright sharding, and TestNG parallelism enable this.

Modern end-to-end testing framework by Microsoft supporting Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit. Features: auto-wait, built-in parallelism, network interception, and multi-language support.

HTTP method used to send data to create a resource. In API testing, validate status 201, response body structure, and that the resource was actually created.

GUI tool for manually testing and documenting REST APIs. Collections can be exported and run in CI via Newman.

HTTP method used to fully update an existing resource. Returns 200 OK or 204 No Content. Contrast with PATCH which partially updates.

Python testing framework. Fixtures, parametrize, and plugins make it powerful for both unit tests and Selenium/Playwright automation in Python.

Process-oriented discipline ensuring software quality through prevention — reviewing requirements, test planning, and process improvements — not just bug finding.

Product-oriented activity of finding defects in the actual software through testing. QA is about processes; QC is about the product.

Re-running previously passing tests after code changes to ensure existing functionality is not broken. Automation makes regression testing scalable.

Representational State Transfer — architectural style for web services using HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE). Most modern web APIs are RESTful.

Java DSL library for testing REST APIs. Provides a fluent syntax: given().when().get("/users").then().statusCode(200). Standard in Java SDET interviews.

Mechanism to automatically re-run a failed test a set number of times before marking it failed. Helps handle transient flakiness. TestNG: retryAnalyzer. Playwright: --retries flag.

Narrow regression test after a bug fix or minor change to verify the specific fix works. Faster than full regression; confirms the fix without exhaustive retesting.

Capturing the browser state at failure. Selenium: getScreenshotAs(). Playwright: page.screenshot(). Cypress: automatic on failure. Essential for CI debugging.

Role that combines software engineering skills with testing expertise. SDETs build automation frameworks, CI pipelines, and testing tools — not just run manual tests.

The most widely used open-source browser automation framework. WebDriver API supports Java, Python, C#, Ruby, and JavaScript across all major browsers.

Distributed test execution infrastructure. Hub manages routing; Nodes run actual browsers. Enables parallel cross-browser testing at scale.

Browser extension for recording and playing back Selenium tests. Good for prototyping locators but not suitable for production test suites.

High-level test of critical functionality after a build to decide if deeper testing is worth proceeding. Also called Build Verification Test (BVT).

Selenium error thrown when a WebElement reference is no longer attached to the DOM — usually after page navigation or JavaScript re-renders the page.

A lightweight fake that returns fixed responses for dependencies (like APIs or databases) during tests. Less powerful than a mock but simpler to set up.

Development approach where failing unit tests are written before the implementation code. Red → Green → Refactor cycle. Promotes design clarity.

A documented set of conditions, steps, and expected results used to verify a specific feature. Contains: Test ID, Description, Preconditions, Steps, Expected Result.

A formal document describing testing scope, approach, resources, schedule, and entry/exit criteria for a release or feature.

Tool that discovers and executes test files. TestNG, JUnit 5, Pytest, Mocha, and Playwright Test are all test runners with parallel execution support.

Java testing framework with powerful features: parallel execution, data providers, grouping, listeners, and rich HTML reporting. Standard for Selenium Java projects.

Java method that pauses execution for a fixed time. Anti-pattern in automation — use explicit waits instead. Causes slow, unreliable tests.

Testing the smallest isolated piece of code (function/class) without external dependencies. Fastest and cheapest test type. Does not involve browsers.

Detecting unintended visual changes by comparing screenshots pixel-by-pixel. Tools: Applitools, Percy, Playwright's built-in toHaveScreenshot().

W3C-standardised protocol for browser automation. Selenium WebDriver, Playwright, and WebdriverIO all use this protocol to communicate with browsers.

Selenium class for explicit waits. Polls every 500ms until condition is met or timeout expires. Best practice: use instead of Thread.sleep() everywhere.

Protocol for persistent, bidirectional browser-server communication. Playwright supports WebSocket inspection via page.on("websocket") for real-time app testing.

Testing with full knowledge of the internal code structure, logic paths, and data flows. Also called Glass Box or Structural testing.

XML Path Language used to navigate the DOM tree. Powerful but slower than CSS selectors. Use relative XPath (//input[@id="email"]) never absolute XPath.

Human-readable data format used to define CI/CD pipeline configuration in GitHub Actions (.github/workflows/*.yml), GitLab CI, and Docker Compose files.

Cypress requires no driver binaries, no separate server, and no complex configuration to start writing tests — just npm install and you're ready.