Six thousand tests, a four-hour run, and a request to make it faster. This lecture is where the time goes and what can realistically be done about it.
Measure before optimising. A typical large Selenium suite spends its time roughly like this, and the proportions surprise people:
| Where | Typical share |
|---|---|
| Browser startup and teardown | 15-25% |
| Setup through the UI | 30-40% |
| Protocol round trips | 10-20% |
| Waiting for the application | 15-25% |
| The behaviour under test | 10-15% |