What is End to End Testing & Why is it Important

End-to-end (E2E) testing is a software testing method that examines an application’s entire flow, in real-world user scenarios. It ensures all components work together as intended, by validating the application’s functionality from a user’s perspective. The purpose of end-to-end testing is to uncover any errors or problems that could occur as various components of the application communicate with one another

1. TestInfrastructure&End-to-EndTestingCloud
WhatisEndtoEndTesting&Whyisit
Important?

2. WhatisEndtoEndtesting?
End-to-end(E2E)testingisasoftwaretestingmethodthatexaminesan
application’sentireflow,inreal-worlduserscenarios.Itensuresall
componentsworktogetherasintended,byvalidatingtheapplication’s
functionalityfromauser’sperspective.Thepurposeofend-to-endtestingis
touncoveranyerrorsorproblemsthatcouldoccurasvariouscomponentsof
theapplicationcommunicatewithoneanother.
Imaginetestingashoppingwebsite.E2Etesting
wouldgobeyondcheckingifyoucanadditems
toacart.Itwouldsimulatetheentirepurchase
process,frombrowsingproductsandloggingin
tosecurepaymentandorderconfirmation.This
approachhelpsdetectissuesthatmightarise
whenvariouspartsoftheapplicationinteract.
ThisisexactlywhereE2Etestingfitsinthepicture.
Thistypeoftestingcoversalllayersoftheapplicationstack,includingthe
userinterface,businesslogic,datapersistence,andexternalintegrations.By
identifyingandaddressingissuesrelatedtosystemintegration,dataintegrity,
anduserexperience,end-to-endtestinghelpsensurethereliability,stability,
andperformanceofthesoftwarebeforeitisdeployedtoproduction
environments.Additionally,itprovidesstakeholderswithconfidenceinthe

3. system’sabilitytomeetbusinessrequirementsanddelivervalueto
end-users.
WhyisEndtoEnd(E2E)TestingImportant?
E2Etestingisanintegratedtestrunthathastohappenbeforetheproductis
certifiedtobereleasedtothecustomers.Itisnecessarytomakesurethesub
processesorindividualfunctionalitiesfitintothebiggerpictureanddelivera
hasslefreeexperiencefortheend-user.E2Etestingprovidesaholistic
approachinvalidatinganapplication’sfunctionalityfromtheuser’sview
point.
End-to-endtestingismosteffective
whenitisintegratedintothe
developmentprocess,providinga
strongvalidationmechanismatkey
points.Letustrytounderstandthis
throughanexample.Considera
scenariowhereauserwantstowatcha
movieonanOTTapp.Forthistohappen,
weseethatmostoftheapplicationswillhavethefollowingflowandeachof
thesestepsaredependentonthepreviousonetoworkfine.
●Login:ThetestbeginswithauserloggingintotheOTTappusingtheir
validcredentials.Thisverifiessuccessfulloginfunctionality.
●BrowseContent:Theuserbrowsesthelibraryusingvariousmethodslike
browsingcategories,searchingforspecifictitles,orusingthe“Continue

4. Watching”row.Thisensuressmoothnavigation,searchfunctionality,
andcontentloading.
●MovieSelection:Theuserselectsamovietowatch.Thetestverifiesthat
moviedetailslikesynopsis,cast,andtrailerloadcorrectly.
●Playback:Theuserstartswatchingthemovie.Thistestsvideoplayback
functionality,includingsmoothstreaming,subtitles,andtheabilityto
adjustplaybacksettings.
●ContinueWatching:Afterwatchingforsometime,theuserpauses
playbackandexitstheapp.Thetestverifiesthattheappremembers
theuser’sprogressandthemovieappearsinthe“ContinueWatching”
sectionwhentheappisreopened.
ThisisjustasampleflowthatcoversthemostbasicfunctionalityanOTT
applicationisexpectedtodeliver.Furtherfunctionalitiescanbeaddedtothis
flowinordertohaveawidertestcoverage.Forexample,downloading
content,multi-profilesupport,parentalcontrols,networkconnectivityissue
handling,contentmissingerrorhandling,andsoonandsoforth.
ByperformingalltheseE2Etestscenarios,theOTTPlatformcandelivera
robust,bug-freeapplicationtotheend-users.Thissortoftestingcanbe
performedonceallthefeaturesoftheproductareindividuallytestedandare
integrated.ConsideringtheSoftwareDevelopmentLifeCycle(SDLC),Endto
Endtestingcanbeperformedafterthedevelopmentphaseiscompletedfor
thatparticulariterationandbeforethesoftwareisreleasedtotheend-users.
Thisservesasagatewaythatensuresconfidenceintheproduct’sreliability
andbehaviors.

5. Next,let’slookatthedifferenttypesofendtoendtestingbasedoncertain
categoriesasdefinedbelow.c
DifferentTypesofEndtoEndTesting
TherearetwomainwaystocategorizeE2Etestingapproaches:byfocusand
byautomationlevel.Let’sbreakitdown:
1.ByFocus:
HorizontalE2ETesting:Thisapproachfocusesontestingabroaduserjourney
acrossvariousfunctionalities.Thinkofitastestingtheentirecheckout
processonane-commercewebsite,frombrowsingproductstoplacingan
orderandreceivingconfirmation.
VerticalE2ETesting:Thismethodgoesdeeper,concentratingonaspecific
featureorfunctionalityandmakingsureallitsunderlyingcomponentswork
seamlesslytogether.Forexample,onthesamee-commercewebsite,vertical
E2Etestingmightsolelyfocusonthefunctionalityoftheshoppingcart,
checkingifitemsareadded,removed,andquantitiesareadjustedcorrectly.
2.ByAutomationLevel:
ManualE2ETesting:Thistraditionalapproachinvolvesahumantester
manuallynavigatingthroughtheapplication,simulatinguserjourneys,and
notinganyissuesencountered.Althoughittakestime,manualtestingcanbe
valuableforexploratorytestingortasksthatrequirehumanjudgment.
AutomatedE2ETesting:Thismethodutilizesautomationtoolsandframeworks
toscriptuseractionsandautomatetestexecution.Itallowsforfasterand

6. morerepetitivetesting,whichisidealforregressiontestingorensuringcore
functionalitiesremainintactaftercodechanges.
HowtoPerformEndtoEndTesting?
End-to-end(E2E)testinggoesbeyondindividualcomponentstestingin
softwaredevelopment,ensuringaseamlessuserexperiencefromstartto
finish.BelowmentionedstepsexplainshowtoperformEndtoEndtesting:
TestPlanning

7. ●Beforewritingyourtestcases,definethescopeforend-to-endtesting.
Identifytheessentialfeaturesandfunctionalitiesyouneedtotest,along
withtheuserjourneysandinteractionsyouwanttovalidate.Don’t
forgettoconsideranyrisksanddependenciesthatmayimpactyour
testingprocess.Definingyourtestscopewillhelpyoufocusontesting
themostcrucialaspectsofyoursystemwhileavoidingunnecessary
scenarios.
●Createadedicatedtestingenvironmentthatcloselyresemblesthe
productionsetup.Thisensuresthattestsreflectreal-worldconditions.
●SelectEndtoEndtestingtoolslikeSelenium,Cypress,orAppiumbased
onyourapplication’stechnologystackandrequirements.
DesigningandDevelopingTestCases
●Onceyoudefineyourscope,designanddevelopyourtestcasesusing
theuserrequirementsandspecificationsasaguide.Awell-craftedtest
caseshouldincludeaconciseanddescriptivetitle,alistof
preconditionsandassumptions,aseriesofstepstofollow,andan
anticipatedoutcomeorresult.Additionally,makesuretoincorporate
anynecessarydata,parameters,orvariablesforyourtestcase.Thekey
toawell-designedtestcaseisthatitshouldbestraightforwardto
comprehend,execute,andupdate.
●Focusoncorefunctionalitiesandhigh-impactuserjourneysfirst.This
ensuresthatcriticalareasarethoroughlytestedwithintimeconstraints.
TestAnalysisandExecution

8. ●Runyourtestcasesmanuallyorutilizeautomationtoolsforexecution.
Automatingyourtestcasescanhelpyousavetimeandeffort,while
alsoboostingthereliabilityandconsistencyofyourend-to-endtesting
process.
●It’simportanttohaveastrategyforwhenandhowyourunyourtest
cases.Youcanchoosetorunthembeforeoraftereachdeployment,on
ascheduledbasis,orondemand.Additionally,it’scrucialtohavea
strategyformonitoringyourtestcases.Thiscaninvolveusing
dashboards,reports,oralertstokeeptrackoftheirprogress.By
regularlyrunningandmonitoringyourtestcases,youcanensurethat
yoursystemisfunctioningproperlyandaddressanyproblemsorbugs
thatarise.
ContinuousImprovement
●Updateandrefineyourtestcasesastheapplicationevolvestoreflect
changesandnewfunctionalities.ConsiderintegratingE2Etestsinto
yourContinuousIntegrationandDelivery(CI/CD)pipeline.Thisallows
forautomatedtestingwitheverycode–commitorbuild,catching
issuesearlyon.
●ContinuouslylearnfromtestresultsandadaptyourE2Etestingstrategy
tobetteraddressuserneeds.
Bystickingtotheseguidelinesandcontinuouslyimprovingyourmethods,you
caneffectivelyconductend-to-endtestingandensureyoursoftware
providesasmoothanduser-friendlyexperience.Remember,end-to-end

9. testingisanongoingjourney,notafinaldestination.It’saprocessthatadapts
alongsideyoursoftware,ensuringitsqualityandusersatisfaction.
TestScenarioforEndtoEndBrowserTesting
Consideramobileapplicationthathelpsuserssearchforjobs,manage
applications,andconnectwithpotentialemployers.
Objective:
Performcomprehensiveend-to-end(E2E)testingtoensureaseamlessuser
experienceforallfunctionalitieswithintheapp.
Scope:
●UserRegistrationandLogin(includingsocialmedialogin)
●JobSearchFunctionality(filters,location,keywords)
●JobDetailsDisplay(accurateinformation,clearformatting)
●ApplicationProcess(resumeupload,coverlettercomposition)
●SavedJobsManagement(adding,removing,organizing)
●NotificationsandAlerts(newjobmatches,applicationupdates)
●MessagingwithEmployers(in-appchatfunctionalities)
TestingDevicesandPlatforms:
●Android(variouspopularmodelsandAndroidversions)
●iOS(variouspopulariPhoneandiPadmodels,currentandpreviousiOS
versions)
TestScenarios

10. SuccessfulUserJourney:Auserregisters,createsaprofile,searchesforjobs,
appliesforaposition,savesinterestingopportunities,receivesnotifications,
andstartsaconversationwithanemployer.
NegativeTesting:Testscenarioswithinvaliddataentry,missinginformation,
networkconnectivityissues,servererrors,andunexpectedappbehavior.
AccessibilityTesting:Ensuretheappisaccessibleforuserswithdisabilities
(screenreadercompatibility,textsizeadjustments,colorcontrast).
PerformanceTesting:Analyzeapploadingtimes,responsiveness,andbattery
consumptionunderdifferentuserloads.
Deliverables:
●Detailedtestreportsdocumentingallexecutedtestcases,including
passedandfailedscenarioswithscreenshotsandlogs.
●Bugreportswithcleardescriptionsofidentifiedissues,stepsto
reproduce,andseveritylevels.
ExpectedSkills:
●Experiencewithmobileapptestingmethodologies
●KnowledgeofE2Etestingprinciples
●FamiliaritywithAndroidand/oriOStestingframeworks
●Excellentcommunicationandreportingskills
ByconductingthoroughE2Etesting,wecanensurethatthisapplicationoffers
auser-friendlyandreliableplatformforjobseekerstofindtheirdreamjobs.
Earlyidentificationandresolutionofbugswillminimizeappcrashes,improve
usersatisfaction,andenhancetheapplicationreputationinthemarket.

11. Unlikemanyothertestingapproaches,thereareafewwellknownopen
sourceframeworkswhichperformendtoendtesting.Belowsectiontalks
aboutthepopularframeworksusedforE2Etesting.
EndtoEndTestingFrameworks
TheworldofE2Etestingoffersavastarrayoftoolsandframeworksto
conquertheuserjourney.Here’sabreakdownofsomepopularoptionsto
considerforyourtestingneeds:
Selenium:ApioneerintheE2Etestingarena,Seleniumboastswidebrowser
supportandlanguagebindingsforvariousprogramminglanguageslike
Java,Python,C#,etc.Itsflexibilityallowsforbothmanualandautomated
testing,makingitaversatilechoice.
Cypress:Thismodernframeworkfocusesonfront-endtesting,particularly
webapplications.Cypressoffersauser-friendlyinterface,built-inwaiting
mechanisms,andavisualdebugger–streamliningthetestingprocess.
Appium:Designedformobileapptesting,AppiumleveragesSelenium’score
functionalitiestoautomateinteractionsacrossvariousmobileplatforms(iOS,
Android,etc.).Itallowsyoutotestnative,hybrid,andwebmobileappsusinga
singleframework.
Theseareafewframeworksthatarepopularintheindustrytoday.Now,let’s
seesomebestpracticesthatareessentialtobefollowedforendtoend
testing.

12. BestPracticesforEnd-to-endTesting
End-to-end(E2E)testingplaysavitalroleinensuring
yoursoftwarefunctionsseamlesslyfromauser’s
perspective.Herearesomekeybestpracticestofollow
foreffectiveE2Etesting:
●Alwaysprioritizetheuser’sperspective.Focusontestingreal-worlduser
journeysandfunctionalitiesthey’llencountermostfrequently.
●DefinethescopeofyourEndtoEndtestingbasedoncriticalfeatures
anduserworkflows.Thisensuresefficientuseofresources.
●Setupadedicatedtestingenvironmentthatcloselyresemblesthe
productionsetup.Thisminimizessurpriseswhendeployingthe
software.
●Writeclear,concise,andeasy-to-understandtestcases.Use
descriptivenamesandstepstofacilitatefutureupdatesand
collaboration.
●Automaterepetitiveandtime-consumingtestcasesusingachosen
EndtoEndtestingframework.Thisfreesuptimeformoreexploratory
testing.
●Monitortestexecution,recordresults,andgeneratecomprehensive
reportsforfuturereference.Thisaidsinidentifyingtrendsandanalyzing
testeffectiveness.
●IntegratesecurityconsiderationsintoyourE2Etestingstrategy.Simulate
potentialattacksandidentifyvulnerabilitiesbeforedeployment.

13. ●Everytestingcycleoffersvaluableinsights.Analyzeresults,identify
areasforimprovement,andadaptyourEndtoEndtestingstrategyfor
bettercoverageandefficiency.
EndtoEndtestingisajourney,notadestination.Byfollowingthesebest
practicesandcontinuouslyrefiningyourapproach,youcanensureyour
softwaredeliversaflawlessuserexperiencefromstarttofinish.Withthis,now
let’sseehowTestGridcomesintothepictureofEndtoEndtesting.
Conclusion:
End-to-end(E2E)testingisacomprehensivemethodthatvalidatesan
application'sfunctionalitybysimulatingreal-worlduserscenarios.Itensures
thatallcomponents,fromtheuserinterfacetothebackend,workseamlessly
together.Thistypeoftestinghelpsuncovererrorsinsystemintegration,data
integrity,anduserexperience,ensuringareliableandstableproduct.E2E
testingiscriticalbeforerelease,asitprovidesconfidencethatthesoftware
meetsbusinessrequirementsanddeliversvaluetousers.Byfocusingonuser
journeys,automatingrepetitivetasks,andcontinuouslyimprovingtestcases,
teamscanensuresoftwarequalityandasmoothuserexperience.
Source:Thisarticlewasoriginallypublishedattestgrid.io