Brief
A global HCP (Healthcare Professionals) engagement platform managing Speaker Bureau and Advisory Programs for 1,000+ speakers partnered with Sedstart to build a scalable, maintainable web test automation framework.
With frequent product releases driven by the evolving demands of healthcare compliance and user experience, the client needed a robust quality engineering solution that could keep pace without introducing release risk.
Sedstart delivered a comprehensive Selenium-based automation suite integrated into their CI/CD pipeline, achieving 1,000+ automated test cases, 80% E2E UI coverage, and zero production bugs reported by clients, while saving $2,000 per month in regression testing costs.
Client background
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in New York, the client is a leading provider of HCP engagement applications and services, offering a single, powerful interface that enables life sciences organizations to manage Speaker Bureau programs, Advisory Boards, and more.
The platform delivers six distinct solutions across four core products, serving over 1,000 speakers and healthcare professionals globally across a web-based application suite.
With a team of 100+ employees, the organization operates with a strong focus on continuous product improvement and compliance-grade reliability.
As the platform scaled and the complexity of its engagement workflows grew, the need for a structured, automated approach to quality assurance became critical. It was required to support faster release cycles while maintaining the high standards expected in a healthcare-adjacent environment.
The challenge
The platform undergoes frequent updates and releases, constantly adapting to the ever-changing demands of HCP engagement compliance and user requirements. Developers needed methodologies and tools that minimized risks such as regression bugs, new glitches, and crashes.
The client turned to Sedstart because they needed a stable, maintainable, and scalable automation framework to improve release velocity while keeping the quality of their web application firmly under control.
Specifically, the client was facing the following pain points:
Frequent web app releases introduced a high risk of regression bugs and quality regressions without adequate automated coverage.
No scalable or maintainable automation framework existed to support the pace of development and the complexity of HCP engagement workflows.
Manual testing alone could not reliably keep up with evolving compliance requirements and continuous delivery expectations.
The development team lacked the structure needed to integrate automated tests into their CI/CD pipeline effectively.
Knowledge gaps around web test automation meant the team needed both a framework and the capability to maintain it independently.
Our approach
Sedstart's automation experts proposed and built a custom web test automation framework tailored to the client's specific requirements, with Selenium and Cucumber at its core. Our approach was hands-on, collaborative, and designed to leave the client's team fully equipped to maintain and extend the framework independently.
Custom Selenium + Cucumber automation framework
We designed and delivered a robust, scalable Selenium with Cucumber-based automation framework for the client's web application. Built with Java, the framework enabled developers to write behavior-driven automated test cases in plain language and execute them directly within the delivery pipeline — reducing the technical barrier for non-developer QA contributors.
Comprehensive test coverage strategy
We worked closely with the client's QA and product teams to build a test suite covering 1,000+ test cases with 100% planned coverage across all six solutions and four core products. Test scenarios spanned regression, functional, and end-to-end workflows, ensuring all critical HCP engagement journeys were validated before every release.
CI/CD pipeline integration
The automation suite was fully integrated into the client's CI/CD pipeline via Jenkins and Docker, enabling automated tests to run on every build across three environments. This eliminated manual regression cycles as a bottleneck and gave the development team immediate feedback on release readiness. This directly contributed to the $2,000/month regression cost saving.
Front-end automation for regression efficiency
We implemented front-end automation specifically targeting the most time-intensive and error-prone regression scenarios. By automating 75% of all test cases and enabling automatic runs across environments, the team significantly reduced regression testing time, manual effort, and the risk of human error in release validation.
Training, knowledge transfer & ongoing support
Our team integrated seamlessly with the client's development team through weekly reviews, retrospectives, demos, and hands-on training sessions on the framework. Through transparent communication, continuous knowledge exchange, and practical guidance, we ensured the team had everything needed to maintain and scale the framework confidently beyond the engagement.
##Technologies & tools
Zephyr - Test Management Tool
Jira - Project & Bug Management
Selenium with Cucumber - Automation Tool
Java - Programming Language
Jenkins - Build Automation (CI/CD)
Docker
AWS - Cloud Platform
Sauce Labs - Cross-Browser Testing
The result
The engagement delivered a production-ready automation framework and measurable improvements across every dimension of the client's web quality engineering practice:
Maximized efficiency and project clarity through a comprehensive joint strategy, with complete documentation and all necessary tooling in place from day one.
Enhanced system robustness by covering a wide range of test scenarios — including regression testing, functional testing, and full end-to-end automation across 1,000+ test cases.
Streamlined regression testing through the implementation of front-end automation, resulting in greater efficiency, fewer manual errors, and faster release cycles.
Fostered strong collaboration between the client and Sedstart teams, enabling swift implementation of feedback and continuous improvements throughout the engagement.
Automated 75% of all test cases and enabled automatic runs across three different environments, directly reducing regression testing time and saving $2,000 per month.
Implemented major releases with effective planning and structured milestone design, resulting in low-to-zero production impact across every release cycle.
Zero bugs reported in production by clients - reflecting the depth of coverage, the resilience of the automation framework, and the quality culture embedded across the team.