1. Treat Automation Like a Software Design Problem
Right up front, Dimple frames automation as software development with design responsibilities, not just scripting:
Good design → less rework, fewer remediation cycles, easier maintenance.
Poor design → brittle tests, clumsy frameworks, and constant firefighting.
Watch for:
Her emphasis on planning, strategy, and design before jumping into tools and code. This mindset is critical in an AI era where you can generate code quickly—but still need a solid structure to plug it into.
2. Specification vs. Implementation
She calls out a fundamental distinction:
Specification = what to test (behavior, outcome, business rule)
Implementation = how to test it (locators, flows, technical details)
Why it matters:
Keeping these separate makes tests more robust to UI changes.
Feature files and high-level tests should describe intent, not DOM details.
Implementation lives in page objects, helpers, and configuration.
As you watch, ask: “Is this line about what the system should do, or how we make the browser do it?”
3. The World / Helper Class Concept
Dimple introduces a custom World helper class:
Central place to hold:
page object instances
driver instances
shared objects used across steps
Environment hooks (environment.groovy) simply initialize the World, then reuse it.
Benefits:
Keeps step definitions cleaner and less repetitive.
Makes it easy to add new pages without hunting through the whole codebase.
Keeps framework wiring out of the test logic.
Modern mapping:
Think Playwright test fixtures, Cypress custom commands, or DI containers for page objects.
Also a good place to integrate AI helpers or API clients without polluting every test.
4. Base Page as a Framework-Specific Helper
She treats the base page as another helper, not just a dumping ground:
Abstract class that contains:
Shared behaviors across pages
Framework-specific helpers (e.g., Kendo UI quirks, dropdowns, checkboxes, etc.)
Key idea:
Instead of sprinkling custom UI framework logic everywhere, centralize it in a base page so every page object can reuse it.
Why this still matters:
Modern apps use complex UI frameworks.
Having a single place to handle their oddities (locators, timing, widget behavior) prevents duplication and drift.
5. Selenium “Loadable Page” Pattern
This is one of the most practically valuable parts.
Dimple uses a Loadable Page / loadable component concept:
An interface or base class with methods like:
verifyPageLoads()
waitUntilPageIsLoaded()
Before running actions, the page:
Confirms key elements are present/visible
Fails fast if the page hasn’t really loaded
What to focus on:
She uses it to avoid common flakiness:
“element not found”
“element not visible”
page not fully ready
Instead of adding explicit waits for every element, she verifies that the page itself is ready at a higher level.
Modern equivalent:
Playwright’s built-in waiting and expect(page).toHaveURL/locator checks
Custom waitForReady() methods on complex pages/components
Great pattern to combine with AI that might otherwise “click too early.”
6. Always Return a Page (Fluent Page Flow / Nesting)
Another important design principle:
Page methods don’t just do something; they return a page object:
Either the same page (e.g., submit and stay)
Or the next page (e.g., login page → inbox page)
Example flow she describes:
Login page → enterCredentials() → returns Gmail inbox page
Compose/send email → returns inbox page again
Why this is powerful:
Lets you chain calls and express full user flows cleanly:
loginPage.enterCredentials().verifyInboxLoaded()
Keeps the test code expressive and makes navigation explicit but concise.
This pattern fits perfectly with modern tools and AI-generated tests: each step in the flow returns where the test should “live” next.
7. Test Data Strategy: Don’t Over-Engineer It
Dimple tackles a common anti-pattern: over-building test data infrastructure on day one.
What she’s seen teams rush into:
Excel plugins
Database integrations
Complex external data management
Her recommendation:
Step back and ask: “What are we actually testing?”
For many UI workflows, all you need is:
A simple test data class in the framework
A few well-chosen values that support the workflow
Especially for workflow tests (draft → submitted → approved), the value is in flow correctness, not in hundreds of data permutations.
Key mindset:
Use risk-based thinking:
Don’t test every combination “just because you can.”
Focus on paths and values that actually represent risk.
Modern relevance:
This keeps suites small, fast, and understandable—even when AI makes it easy to generate lots of variations.
8. Translating This Lesson to Your Stack (and AI)
As you watch, map these concepts to your tools:
In Dimple’s ProjectModern Equivalent
Cucumber + Selenium + GroovyPlaywright, Cypress, Selenium 4+, WebdriverIO
World helper classGlobal fixtures, DI container, context object
Base pageShared page helper / base class / mixin
Loadable pagewaitForReady(), Playwright expect checks, component readiness helpers
Returning pages from methodsFluent page flows, chained playwright/cypress calls
Simple internal test data classTest data builders, fixtures, factory methods
The specifics will differ, but the design patterns are directly reusable.
If You Only Take Away Three Things…
Separate intent from implementation: specs describe behavior; page objects and helpers handle the “how.”
Verify pages are truly ready using a loadable-page style pattern instead of sprinkling waits everywhere.
Keep data and structure as simple as the risk allows—good design reduces rework more than complex tooling ever will.
