UI Wait vs API Polling

What I Learned from a Real Test Case

Recently, I was working on automating a test case where we generate a report from our product. Once the report is ready, a Download button appears in the UI — but not instantly.

This process can take up to 5 minutes, depending on the report size and backend processing.

So I asked myself:

“Should we keep reloading the page until the button appears?
Or should…