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The RIU Web App Automation framework is a layered BDD test automation stack. Each layer has a single responsibility and communicates only with the layer directly below it, keeping tests readable, maintainable, and free of cross-cutting concerns.

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Layer diagram

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           Feature Files (.feature)           │  ← Plain-language test scenarios
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│           Step Definitions (steps/)          │  ← Maps Gherkin → Java
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│           Page Objects (pages/)              │  ← UI interactions per page
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│           Base Utilities (utilities/)        │  ← Shared WebDriver helpers
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│           Selenium 4 WebDriver               │  ← Browser automation engine
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Directory structure

src/test/
├── java/
│   ├── hooks/
│   │   └── Hooks.java          # @Before / @After lifecycle
│   ├── pages/
│   │   ├── RiuHome.java        # Home page object
│   │   └── LoginModal.java     # Registration modal page object
│   ├── runners/
│   │   └── TestRunner.java     # Cucumber + TestNG entry point
│   ├── steps/
│   │   └── RiuSteps.java       # Gherkin step implementations
│   └── utilities/
│       ├── BasePage.java       # Shared Selenium helpers
│       └── TestContext.java    # Shared state container
└── resources/
    └── features/
        └── RegistroRiu.feature # BDD test scenarios

​
How the layers connect

1

Runner triggers Cucumber

TestRunner extends AbstractTestNGCucumberTests and carries the @CucumberOptions annotation. TestNG discovers it and delegates scenario execution to the Cucumber engine.
@CucumberOptions(
    features = "classpath:features",
    glue = {"steps", "hooks"},
    tags = "@smoke",
    plugin = {
        "pretty",
        "io.qameta.allure.cucumber7jvm.AllureCucumber7Jvm"
    }
)
public class TestRunner extends AbstractTestNGCucumberTests {}
2

Hooks manage the browser lifecycle

Before each scenario, Hooks.setUp() creates a new ChromeDriver instance and stores it on TestContext. After each scenario, Hooks.tearDown() quits the browser and frees memory.
3

Step definitions orchestrate the test

RiuSteps receives TestContext via PicoContainer constructor injection. Each Gherkin step maps to a method that creates a page object and delegates the action to it.
4

Page objects drive the browser

RiuHome and LoginModal extend BasePage. They hold locators as private fields and expose intent-revealing methods (clickRegister(), typeName()) rather than raw Selenium calls.
5

BasePage wraps Selenium

Every interaction goes through BasePage, which wraps raw Selenium calls with 10-second WebDriverWait conditions. This single choke-point eliminates flaky timing issues across the entire suite.

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Major components

TestRunner

The Cucumber + TestNG entry point. Configures feature paths, glue packages, tag filters, and Allure reporting. Nothing else needs to change when adding new scenarios.

Hooks

Manages browser lifecycle with @Before and @After annotations. Receives TestContext through PicoContainer so the same driver instance is shared without static fields.

Page Objects

One class per page or modal. Locators are private; public methods describe user intent. Extend BasePage to inherit all waiting and interaction helpers.

BasePage

A thin, opinionated wrapper around Selenium 4. Provides find, click, type, getText, isDisplayed, isClickable, isChecked, and navigateTo — all with built-in explicit waits.

TestContext

A plain Java object that holds the WebDriver instance. PicoContainer injects the same instance into every class that declares it as a constructor parameter.

Feature Files

Gherkin scenarios written in Spanish that describe business behaviour. Tags (@smoke) control which scenarios the runner picks up.

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Technology choices

TechnologyRoleWhy
Selenium 4Browser automationNative WebDriver BiDi support, relative locators, improved grid.
Cucumber 7BDD layerGherkin scenarios act as living documentation understood by non-technical stakeholders.
TestNGTest runnerParallel execution, flexible reporters, and native integration with AbstractTestNGCucumberTests.
PicoContainerDependency injectionZero-configuration constructor injection keeps step classes stateless and easily composable.
AllureReportingRich HTML reports with step-level screenshots, timeline view, and CI integration.
The framework currently targets Chrome via ChromeDriver. Cross-browser support can be added by replacing the driver instantiation in Hooks.java with a factory that reads a system property.

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