In this post, we will look at common automation testing framework questions asked in testing interviews.

What is Automation Framework?

An Automation framework is a systematic approach followed by the automation team to achieve test automation. It includes process, team, tools, files etc. A testing automation framework is an execution environment for automated tests. It is the overall system in which the tests will be automated and executed. It provides support for automated testing. A framework approach for automation leverages the automation effort across the organization.

What are the features of the Automation Framework?

Features of automation framework are as below:

The automation framework should drive and run the AUT without manual intervention. A framework should be application independent. Also, there is no point in designing the framework tightly coupled with a specific application. Furthermore, the ROI of such a framework would be negative. Another feature is the ability to run test suites without manual intervention.
Ability to add/modify/delete tests.
Handle common things across all the tests.
Ability to handle test pass/ fail expectations.
Log and reporting results for future perusal.
It should be easy to expand and maintain.

What are the different types of automation frameworks?

Below are some of the types of automation frameworks:

Data-Driven Framework.
Keyword Driven  Framework.
Modular Framework.
Hybrid  Framework.

 

Sample Selenium framework and the interactions between different components shown below:

 

Why we need an automation framework?

Below are some of the key points to illustrate why we need an automation framework.

Automation framework reduces test maintenance and manual effort.
Test framework helps improve the efficiency of testing and test coverage.
The automation framework reduces test cycle time and enhances the reliability of tests.
Running the test scripts with different sets of data is easy with automation.
Executing the scripts end-to-end without any manual intervention improves work life balance of testers.

With an automation framework in place we can engage QA Team to other important activities.