A framework needs a consistent wait strategy to handle asynchronous UIs. Explicit waits (WebDriverWait + ExpectedConditions) are preferred; implicit waits set a global poll; fluent waits customize polling/exceptions. Never use fixed Thread.sleep.
Implicit wait sets a single global timeout for element location but doesn't wait for conditions (visible/clickable) and can interact badly with explicit waits (compounding timeouts). Explicit waits pause until a SPECIFIC condition (elementToBeClickable, visibilityOf) — the recommended approach, centralized in a WaitUtils helper so every test uses the same robust logic. Fluent waits let you tune polling interval and ignore exceptions (e.g. StaleElement). Mixing implicit and explicit waits is discouraged. A good framework exposes wait helpers (waitForVisible, waitForClickable) and bans Thread.sleep, which is the leading cause of flaky/slow suites.
A WaitUtils.waitForClickable(locator) wrapper used by every page method replaces scattered Thread.sleep(3000) calls, cutting both flakiness and runtime because it proceeds the moment the element is actionable.
Reviewers find Thread.sleep(3000) throughout the suite. What's the framework-level fix and why is it better?