domain project / education

E-Learning Platform

Test strategies for course catalogues, video lessons, quizzes, progress tracking, certificates, and instructor dashboards.

Course catalogue & searchVideo lessonsQuizzes & assessmentsProgress trackingCertificatesInstructor dashboard

Domain Overview

E-learning platforms have two user types (learner and instructor) with different journeys. Progress tracking must be accurate (completion percentage, quiz scores). Video lessons have playback, resume, and completion events. Certificates need to be generated correctly. Accessibility is important — many learners have disabilities.

Typical stack: React / Vue frontend, video via Vimeo or self-hosted HLS, LMS backend (custom or Moodle), PDF certificate generation, payment for paid courses.

Key Test Areas

Area	What to test	Risk
Catalogue	Search, filter by topic/level/duration, enrol, free vs paid	Wrong course served, paywall bypass
Video lessons	Play, pause, seek, resume, completion event, captions	Progress not recorded, fake completion
Quiz	Multiple choice, time limit, submit, score, retry	Wrong score, timer exploit
Progress	Course %, lesson completion, streak, certificate unlock	Inaccurate progress, premature certificate
Instructor	Upload content, publish, view analytics, respond to questions	Broken publish flow, lost student data
Certificates	Generate on 100% completion, PDF download, shareable link	Wrong name/course, premature issue

Test Pyramid for E-Learning

Unit (55%):        Quiz scoring, progress calculation, certificate eligibility
Integration (35%): Video completion events, certificate generation, payment
E2E (10%):         Enrol → complete lesson → take quiz → download certificate

Common Failure Scenarios

1. Video completion event fires on skip to end (not watched)
   Test: dispatch 'ended' event via page.evaluate without playing, assert progress NOT marked complete

2. Quiz timer continues after submission (UI bug)
   Test: submit quiz, assert timer element is removed or stopped from the DOM

3. Certificate generated with wrong course name
   Test: complete course, download PDF, extract text, assert course title matches enrolled course

4. Progress percentage rounds to 100% before all lessons complete
   Test: complete all lessons minus one, assert progress < 100% and certificate button is disabled

5. Course available without payment if URL guessed
   Test: obtain lesson URL without enrolling, assert redirect to enrol/paywall page

Playwright Patterns for E-Learning

// Video completion via page.evaluate dispatching 'ended' event
test('lesson only marked complete on actual ended event', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('/course/intro-to-playwright/lesson/1');
  // Skipping to end should NOT mark complete — only the 'ended' event should
  await page.evaluate(() => {
    const video = document.querySelector('video');
    video.currentTime = video.duration - 1;
    // Do NOT dispatch 'ended' — verify progress is still incomplete
  });
  await expect(page.getByTestId('lesson-complete-badge')).not.toBeVisible();

  // Now dispatch 'ended' to simulate legitimate completion
  await page.evaluate(() => {
    document.querySelector('video').dispatchEvent(new Event('ended'));
  });
  await expect(page.getByTestId('lesson-complete-badge')).toBeVisible();
});

// Quiz time limit with page.clock.fastForward
test('quiz auto-submits when time expires', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.clock.install();
  await page.goto('/course/intro-to-playwright/quiz/1');
  await expect(page.getByTestId('quiz-timer')).toBeVisible();
  // Fast-forward past the quiz time limit (e.g. 10 minutes)
  await page.clock.fastForward(10 * 60 * 1000);
  await expect(page.getByTestId('quiz-result')).toBeVisible();
  await expect(page.getByTestId('quiz-timer')).not.toBeVisible();
});

// Certificate PDF download
test('certificate downloads after course completion', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('/course/intro-to-playwright/certificate');
  const [download] = await Promise.all([
    page.waitForEvent('download'),
    page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Download Certificate' }).click(),
  ]);
  expect(download.suggestedFilename()).toMatch(/certificate.*\.pdf$/i);
});