Assessing, Comparing, and Combining Statechart- based testing and Structural testing: An Experiment

An important number of studies have addressed the importance of models in software engineering, mainly in the design of robust software systems. Although models have been proven to be helpful in a number of software engineering activities, such as providing a better medium for communication among designers and customers, there is still significant resistance to model-driven development in many software organizations. The main reason is that it is perceived to be expensive and not necessarily cost-effective. This paper investigates one specific aspect of this larger problem. It addresses the impact of using statecharts for testing class clusters that exhibit a state-dependent behavior. More precisely, it reports on a controlled experiment that investigates their impact on testing fault-detection effectiveness and cost. Code-based, structural testing is compared to statechart-based testing and their combination is investigated to determine whether they are complementary. Results show th...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: ESEM
• Authors: Samar Mouchawrab, Lionel C. Briand, Yvan Labiche
• Keywords: ESEM 2007, Software Engineering, Testing Class Clusters, Testing Fault-detection Effectiveness