Constructing Test Suites for Interaction Testing

Software system faults are often caused by unexpected interactions among components. Yet the size of a test suite required to test all possible combinations of interactions can be prohibitive in even a moderately sized project. Instead, we may use pairwise or ?-way testing to provide a guarantee that all pairs or ?-way combinations of components are tested together. This concept draws on methods used in statistical testing for manufacturing and has been extended to software system testing. A covering array, ?? ? ?, is an ? ? array on ? symbols such that every ? ? ? sub-array contains all ordered subsets from ? symbols of size ? at least once. The properties of these objects, however, do not necessarily satisfy real software testing needs. Instead we examine a less studied object, the mixed level covering array and propose a new object, the variable strength covering array, which provides a more robust environment for software interaction testing. Initial results are presented suggesti...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2003
• Where: ICSE
• Authors: Myra B. Cohen, Peter B. Gibbons, Warwick B. Mugridge, Charles J. Colbourn
• Keywords: ICSE 2003, Software Engineering