Observation-Based Software Testing

研究了一种新的软件测试方法--基于观察的测试。基于观察的测试旨在通过最小化必须手动评估以符合需求的测试用例的数量来降低测试成本。 它要求对由一组潜在的测试用例引起的执行进行概要分析，然后根据它们的概要文件对执行进行过滤，以确定保证手动评估的子集。 使用多变量分析技术过滤执行。 被选择用于评估的执行子集是其配置文件建议比其他子集更可能包含失败的子集。 为了提供用于基于观察的测试的方法和工具集，评估执行的替代形式以确定哪些对于识别与程序故障相关联的条件最有效;评估用于过滤执行的替代过程以确定哪些对于识别一组执行中的故障最有效;和替代的基于观测的技术估计软件可靠性的评价相对于他们的效率。 结合这种方法研究，正在开发一套工具原型，以支持基于观测的测试。

A new approach to software testing called "observation-based testing" is investigated. Observation-based testing is intended to reduce the cost of testing by minimizing the number of test cases that must be evaluated manually for conformance to requirements. It calls for profiling the executions induced by a set of potential test cases and then filtering the executions based on their profiles to identify a subset that warrants manual evaluation. The executions are filtered using multivariate analysis techniques. The subset of execution that is selected for evaluation is one whose profiles suggest is more likely to contain failures than are other subsets. In order to provide a methodology and set of tools for observation-based testing, alternative forms of execution are evaluated to determine which are most effective for identifying conditions associated with program failure; alternative procedures for filtering executions are evaluated to determine which are most effective for identifying failures among a set of executions; and alternative observation-based techniques for estimating software reliability are evaluated with respect to their efficiency. In conjunction with such methodological research, a prototype suite of tools is being developed to support observation-based testing.