What is Page Object Model (POM) in test automation?

Page Object Model (POM) is a design pattern that creates an object repository for web UI elements, separating test logic from page-specific code.

Key Concepts

• Each web page is represented as a class
• Page elements are defined as variables
• User interactions are defined as methods
• Test scripts use page objects to interact with UI

Benefits of POM

• Maintainability: Changes in UI require updates in one place only
• Reusability: Page objects can be reused across multiple tests
• Readability: Tests are more readable and understandable
• Separation of Concerns: Test logic separated from page structure
• Reduced Code Duplication: Common actions defined once

Example Without POM

# Test script (not recommended)
driver.find_element(By.ID, "username").send_keys("user")
driver.find_element(By.ID, "password").send_keys("pass")
driver.find_element(By.ID, "login-btn").click()

Example With POM

# Page Object Class
class LoginPage:
    def __init__(self, driver):
        self.driver = driver
        self.username_field = (By.ID, "username")
        self.password_field = (By.ID, "password")
        self.login_button = (By.ID, "login-btn")

    def enter_username(self, username):
        self.driver.find_element(*self.username_field).send_keys(username)

    def enter_password(self, password):
        self.driver.find_element(*self.password_field).send_keys(password)

    def click_login(self):
        self.driver.find_element(*self.login_button).click()

    def login(self, username, password):
        self.enter_username(username)
        self.enter_password(password)
        self.click_login()

# Test script (clean and maintainable)
login_page = LoginPage(driver)
login_page.login("user", "pass")

POM Best Practices

• One page object class per web page
• Keep page objects independent of tests
• Use meaningful method names
• Return page objects for method chaining
• Don’t include assertions in page objects
• Use Page Factory for initialization (in Java)