SHF:Small:Collaborative Research: Test-Centric Architecture Modeling

软件体系结构和软件测试都是软件工程的重要研究和实践领域。软件体系结构建模和分析的研究主要集中在为软件设计、开发和维护提供一般性指导。软件测试的研究已经检查了广泛的努力，从开发测试到维护的回归测试。然而，这两个领域长期以来相互脱节。也就是说，体系结构建模和分析技术在很大程度上与测试代码的独特设计特性无关，而软件测试是在没有利用任何体系结构指导的情况下进行的。本项目旨在建立一个新的体系结构建模框架，以弥合软件体系结构和测试之间的差距。 该项目将在现代软件系统的长生命周期内实现架构和测试效率之间的协同作用，从而在这两个领域提供理论进步和实用解决方案。从业者将能够使用输出工具来理解，评估和改进系统的架构，以利于软件测试和维护。研究人员将能够利用该项目中创建的技术，工具和数据来支持各种弥合差距的研究工作。软件工程教育工作者将能够重新思考和振兴软件架构和软件测试主题的教学方式。为了实现上述愿景，研究团队将创建一系列以测试为中心的首个架构建模和分析技术，并放大软件架构和软件测试的好处。更具体地，该建模和分析框架包括1）以测试为中心的架构建模方法，以帮助开发人员和从业者理解和评估测试代码的架构设计，例如，2）以测试为中心的架构分析方法，用于检测和分析以测试代码为中心的架构反模式，这些模式阻碍了测试代码的维护并增加了测试代码的成本;以及3）提供成本有效的回归测试技术的体系结构引导的测试方法，包括回归测试选择和优先级排序，建立在高层次的建筑模型之上。该项目直接有助于实现计算和通信基金会计划的既定目标，即解决提高软件质量的根本问题，从而使依赖软件的社会各阶层受益。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Software architecture and software testing are both important areas of research and practice in software engineering. Research in software architectural modeling and analysis has focused on providing general guidance in software design, development, and maintenance. Research in software testing has examined a broad spectrum of endeavors, ranging from development testing to regression testing for maintenance. However, the two areas have long been disjoint from each other. That is, architecture modeling and analysis techniques are largely agnostic to the unique design features of test code, whereas software testing is conducted without leveraging any architectural guidance. This project aims to build a novel architecture-modeling framework to bridge the gap between software architecture and testing. The project will enable the synergy between architecture and test efficiency across the long lifetimes of modern software systems that can provide theoretical advances and practical solutions in both fields. Practitioners will be able to use the output instruments to understand, evaluate, and improve the architecture of a system to benefit software testing and maintenance. Researchers will be able to leverage the techniques, tools, and data created in this project to support a variety of gap-bridging research efforts. Software-engineering educators will be able to rethink and rejuvenate the way that software architecture and software testing topics are taught. To achieve the above vision, the research team will create a family of first-of-its-kind architectural modeling and analysis techniques that centers on testing and amplifies benefits to both software architecture and software testing. More specifically, this modeling and analysis framework includes 1) A test-centric architecture modeling approach to help developers and practitioners understand and evaluate the architectural design of test code, e.g., whether the design is good or bad, easy or difficult to maintain and test; 2) A test-centric architectural-analysis approach to detect and analyze architectural anti-patterns centered around test code that hinder maintenance and increase costs on test code; and 3) An architecture-guided testing approach that provides cost-effective regression-testing techniques, including regression-testing selection and prioritization, built upon the high-level architectural modeling. This project directly contributes to the stated goals of the Computing and Communication Foundations program of addressing problems fundamental to improving software quality and, thus, benefits all segments of society that depend on software.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.