eCommerce Platform 

Challenge

Taking a product from zero automation to a fully automated, cross-platform test ecosystem involved several complex phases, each with unique technical and process-driven hurdles.

Starting from Scratch

At the project’s inception, there were no automation assets, no frameworks, and no CI integration for testing. We were responsible for laying the entire foundation: selecting tools, designing the architecture, and aligning it with business workflows and delivery timelines.

Framework Migration: Protractor to WebdriverIO

Since the application was built with AngularJS, we initially used Protractor, which was purpose-built for Angular apps. However, as Protractor reached end-of-life and proved less stable under modern tooling expectations, we migrated the entire test suite to WebdriverIO. This shift improved performance, enabled cross-platform test support, and allowed the use of more flexible plugins and community tools.

Expansion to Mobile & API Testing

After the web testing pipeline stabilized, the client asked us to expand coverage to their mobile apps—spanning both iOS and Android. We introduced Appium and reused core test logic where possible using a modular test design. We also added API tests using the same repository and tooling, allowing full-stack testing under a unified architecture and seamless execution in CI.

Optimizing Business Logic Coverage

Interestingly, the initial test cases were written by the client, which meant they were already aligned with the core business logic and user workflows. We worked closely with their team to refactor and optimize these test cases—enhancing their structure for automation, eliminating redundancy, and filling coverage gaps.

QA Team Transition & Scaling

As automation matured, the client decided to transition entirely from manual QA to automation QA (AQA). This not only reduced costs but also improved feedback speed and overall product quality. We scaled the test suite and execution pipeline to run over 50 parallel sessions, ensuring regression cycles could run in minutes rather than hours.

Shared Environment & Complex Reporting

All testing occurred in a shared STAGING environment, requiring careful synchronization, stable test data, and collaboration across teams. Additionally, the client relied on several reporting tools—TestRail for manual case tracking, Allure Reports for visual results, Slack for alerts, and emails for stakeholders. We built a custom reporting layer to ensure consistent, reliable outputs across all systems.

Solution

We delivered a multi-platform, modular, and scalable automation framework tailored to the client’s current tech stack and future growth plans.

Initial Setup with Protractor

• Introduced test automation using Protractor, fully integrated with their AngularJS web app
• Focused on regression and smoke tests to quickly secure the most critical user flows
• Set up TeamCity pipelines to trigger tests on staging deployments and scheduled runs

Framework Migration & Cross-Platform Architecture

• Migrated framework to WebdriverIO, significantly improving maintainability and plugin support
• Refactored tests using Page Object Model and modular design patterns to reduce duplication
• Added Appium-based mobile automation for iOS and Android, reusing logic wherever possible
• Integrated API testing suites into the same codebase for consolidated CI execution

CI/CD & Test Execution Strategy

• Seamless integration with TeamCity, supporting:
  • Triggered runs on staging deployments
  • Scheduled overnight builds
  • Smoke testing after production deployments
  • On-demand runs by developers or stakeholders
• Parallelized execution using:
  • BrowserStack for mobile tests across devices and OS versions
  • High-resource internal nodes for fast web test execution

Collaboration, Reporting & Test Management

• Weekly syncs, shared documentation via Confluence, and proactive issue tracking
• Refined client-authored test cases into automation-ready specs
• Integrated Allure, TestRail, Slack, and email reporting via a custom reporting layer
• Ensured consistent visibility across QA, development, and management teams

Results & Business Impact

Over five years, our partnership with the client delivered remarkable outcomes that transformed their software quality, delivery speed, and QA strategy:

Quality & Confidence

• 90% reduction in production defects, thanks to thorough regression automation
• Greater confidence across stakeholders with each release—less firefighting, more focus on features
• By performing a full cycle of automated testing in 50+ threads, a side result was performing “load” testing on a daily basis, which helped to optimize and debug the resources required for optimal performance of the application

Speed & Efficiency

• 75% faster release certification process, enabling quicker time to market
• Regression cycles reduced from days to hours, running in 50+ parallel sessions

Cost Reduction

• Complete replacement of the manual QA team with automation specialists
• Lower long-term QA costs while increasing test coverage and consistency

Long-Term Growth Enablement

• A scalable, future-proof framework that supports Web, Mobile, and API in one codebase
• Strong collaboration culture established between devs, QA, and stakeholders