Leveraging XPath in Insurance QA for Element Interaction

Introduction

In the insurance industry, it is essential to ensure that applications perform flawlessly across diverse environments and user interactions. This often involves automated testing, where QA software is used to simulate user actions and verify that applications behave as expected. One of the critical components of effective automated testing is the ability to locate and interact with web elements reliably. This is where XPath comes into play. This blog post explores the importance of XPath and Dynamic XPath in QA, how it enhances testing processes, and how Emtech QMT leverages this technology to improve test automation in the insurance industry.

Understanding XPath and Its Role in QA

XPath, also known as XML Path Language, is a syntax used to reference nodes, components, and their values within an XML document. Defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in 1999, XPath is a crucial element in XSLT and XQuery. These functions use path expressions to navigate XML documents and compute values such as strings, numbers, or Boolean values. XPath support is prevalent in applications that handle XML, including web browsers and various programming languages.

Advantages of XPath

Emtech QMT integrates XPath with Selenium to access elements on web pages effectively. XPaths may offer several advantages over IDs (which may not always be present) and CSS/class tags (which can be complex and messy). When a web page loads in a browser, it creates a Document Object Model (DOM) structure. An XPath expression can locate elements within this DOM. XPath is known for being powerful, concise, and accurate, offering advanced attribute selection options and supporting data extraction from attributes.

An XPath Primer for QMT

XPath is a powerful language that provides numerous ways to reference a node. The best solution often depends on the document structure and how the website is maintained. Web developers have considerable freedom in creating web pages and may restructure the document as the website is updated. This can lead to changes in the IDs of elements or the overall structure of the web page, rendering some XPaths obsolete. The most resilient XPath is the one that requires the fewest updates as websites change.

Here are some basics on XPath creation and tips for creating resilient XPaths:

Basic XPath Syntax

A common example of XPath syntax for finding an element is:

XPath=//tagname[@attribute='value']

Where:

// : Applies to any element in the document below the current element.
Tagname: Tag name of the web element.
[]: A predicate used to impose conditions to determine whether a given node is the correct node. The contents of the square brackets evaluate to a Boolean (true or false). If the expression evaluates to true, the node will be included in the XPath results.
@: Select attribute.
attribute: Attribute name of the node.
value: Value of the attribute.

XPath in QMT

QMT leverages XPath in certain Node Types to find and interact with elements. It may help to think of DOM structures as like directory structures on many computer file systems. With that in mind, XPath is like the directory path.

Example Document Structure

Consider the following document:

<html>
<body>
      <span>
           <div>
           <input id="one">...</input>
           </div>
           <span>
           <input id="two">...</input>
           </span>
      </span>
</body>
</html>

This can be thought of as a directory structure where html is a subfolder of the root folder, and body is a subfolder of html, etc. The full simple XPath to the first input element follows the structure of the HTML document and looks like a directory structure:

/html/body/span/div/input

Due to the power of the XPath language, there are other ways to specify that input element. For example, XPaths can be relative to the current location (context) in the document or absolute. In most cases, QMT starts searches at the root of the DOM, and all XPaths are relative to that location. A relative XPath that starts at the root of the document will produce the same result as an absolute XPath.

Absolute and Relative XPaths

An absolute XPath starts with a slash. The above example is an absolute XPath. For the above, one could also access the input using a relative XPath:

html/body/span/div/input

Additional XPath Features

Double Slash (//)

Indicates that the following section of the XPath applies to any element in the document below the current element. The elements do not have to be directly tied to the current element. The double slash can be used anywhere in the XPath.

In the above example, the following will return both input elements:

//input
/html//input

html//input
/html//body//input

The following will return the first input element:

/html/body/span/div//input

Double slashes enable finding nodes in different segments of the DOM or avoiding entering intermediate path fragments, saving effort. They can be resilient to certain types of website changes. However, they increase the likelihood that the XPath query will return multiple elements. In such cases, predicates can help.

Predicates

Supports conditional expressions that can be used to determine which element meets the specified criteria when there are multiple candidates. The expressions can evaluate properties of the element and its context, returning true if the element meets all the criteria. The XPath query will return all elements that satisfy the XPath and the predicate criteria.

In the above example, when the path is not enough to return a unique element, the predicate can be used to distinguish between the two input nodes using the id attribute. These XPaths would otherwise return both inputs but have been modified to return the input with id=”one”:

//input[@id="one"]
/html//input[@id="one"]

Predicates are useful with double slashes as the former can often return more than one element. Predicates are also useful for websites where the id attribute or id attribute and node type can uniquely identify nodes, especially if the web developer does not change the id when updating the website.

Dynamic XPaths in QMT

A key benefit provided by Dynamic XPath is allowing the user to use the same XPath format string for test suites with multiple different values for data parameters instead of creating a new XPath string for each value. QMT supports Dynamic XPaths, which increases the reusability of complicated XPaths within QMT models by using a variable tag in the XPath format and replacing the tag with a value at runtime.

Dynamic XPath format uses mustache formatting {{value}} tags to indicate the location(s) at which values will be replaced in the XPath at execution.

Example

Dynamic XPath format: //span[text()='{{value}}']
Sample Value: 'Male'
Result at execution: {{value}} is replaced by the Value 'Male': //span[text()='Male']

Emtech QMT’s support for XPath, including Dynamic XPaths, enhances the efficiency and accuracy of web element interactions, making it a powerful tool for web automation and testing.

Advantages of Using Emtech QMT

QMT’s high-performance knowledge graph model-based approach enables shift-left, allowing the entire QA cycle to be reduced to a few hours instead of weeks or months.

Improved Product Launches: QMT discovers all defects early, delivering the level of quality needed to meet product launch dates.
Full coverage at a fraction of the cost: Using a knowledge graph model removes manual testing, human error and extends visibility of QA for new products to well-informed business analysts.
Reduce quality-related day-2 issues: QMT enables IT executives to get more value from the dollars spent by testing 100 percent of the value chain, providing the fewest quality-related Day 2 Issues, and reducing the inherent risks.
Model Complex Policy Life Cycles: By testing the end-to-end process of insurance systems, and the integrations between them, carriers, InsurTechs and software vendors can drive quality into product launches and eliminate embarrassing errors experienced by distributors and customers post-launch.

Emtech’s Unique Approach to Quality Engineering

Emtech takes a unique approach to quality engineering that further enhances the benefits of test case generation. Emtech’s modeler maps business logic, enabling intelligent test case generation and automatic updating of tests when graphs change. This approach uses a low-code method for testing business logic and workflow, which improves QA efficiency, reduces costs, and enhances customer satisfaction.

By integrating intelligent test case generation, Emtech ensures that all possible scenarios are covered, reducing the likelihood of defects slipping through the cracks. The automatic updating of tests ensures that any changes in the business logic are immediately reflected in the test cases, maintaining alignment between development and testing. This reduces the manual effort required to update tests and minimizes the risk of human error.

The low-code method for testing business logic and workflow allows non-technical team members to contribute to the testing process, fostering a more inclusive and collaborative environment. This approach also speeds up the testing process, as it reduces the need for extensive coding and allows for quicker adjustments.

Emtech’s QMT significantly improves QA efficiency. By automating many of the testing processes, QMT reduces the time and effort required for testing, allowing teams to focus on more critical tasks. This leads to faster delivery times and lower costs, as fewer resources are needed for testing. Enhanced customer satisfaction is another key benefit of QMT. By ensuring higher quality and more reliable software, Emtech helps maintain a strong and positive brand image. Customers are more likely to trust and recommend insurance carriers that consistently meet their needs and perform reliably.

XPath resources

Additional XPath resources can be found in the links below:

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/XML_-_Managing_Data_Exchange/XPath
W3Schools: https://www.w3schools.com/xml/XPath_intro.asp
Geeksforgeeks: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/introduction-to-XPath/
Test Sigma: https://testsigma.com/blog/find-element-by-xpath/

Final Thoughts

QMT’s XPath capabilities streamline the interaction with web elements, offering robust tools for creating resilient and dynamic XPaths. This enhances the reliability of automated tests by providing more maintainable ways to locate elements. Emtech QMT further integrates Dynamic XPath into its powerful testing framework, giving QA teams a robust platform to ensure the quality of their insurance applications. Dynamic XPaths boost the reusability of complex XPaths within QMT models by using a variable tag format and replacing the tag with a value at runtime. With Emtech QMT, Dynamic XPath can elevate QA processes, achieving greater accuracy and efficiency in automated testing.

Through its intelligent element recognition, visual test creation, cross-browser testing capabilities, and seamless CI/CD integration, Emtech QMT stands out as a comprehensive auto testing case generating platform for modern QA challenges. Its ability to adapt to changes in applications, coupled with a powerful reporting feature, makes it an invaluable asset for QA teams striving for excellence. Emtech QMT empowers to deliver high-quality insurance application with confidence.

To book a demo visit our site here. To read more about Quality Assurance, QMT, QMT TrueXML, and technology topics, visit our blog or visit our resource center.

About the Author

Neil Bendov, MBA, is a Marketing Director at Emtech Group. He is a seasoned marketing professional driven by a passion for cultivating brand success. With a diverse background and a track record of delivering results, Neil specializes in creating and executing innovative business-to-business marketing strategies that resonate with target audiences. Armed with a keen understanding of customer behavior and market trends, he has successfully navigated the dynamic landscape of digital and traditional marketing channels.

Leveraging XPath in Insurance QA for Efficient Web Element Interaction