Model-based testing using UML activity diagrams: A systematic mapping study

Context:The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has become the de facto standard for software modeling. UML models are often used to visualize, understand, and communicate the structure and behavior of a system. UML activity diagrams (ADs) are often used to elaborate and visualize individual use cases. Due to their higher level of abstraction and process-oriented perspective, UML ADs are also highly suitable for model-based test generation. In the last two decades, different researchers have used UML ADs for test generation. Despite the growing use of UML ADs for model-based testing, there are currently no comprehensive and unbiased studies on the topic.Objective:To present a comprehensive and unbiased overview of the state-of-the-art on model-based testing using UML ADs.Method:We review and structure the current body of knowledge on model-based testing using UML ADs by performing a systematic mapping study using well-known guidelines. We pose nine research questions, outline our selection criteria, and develop a classification scheme.Results:The results comprise 41 primary studies analyzed against nine research questions. We also highlight the current trends and research gaps in model-based testing using UML ADs and discuss some shortcomings for researchers and practitioners working in this area. The results show that the existing approaches on model-based testing using UML ADs tend to rely on intermediate formats and formalisms for model verification and test generation, employ a multitude of graph-based coverage criteria, and use graph search algorithms.Conclusion:We present a comprehensive overview of the existing approaches on model-based testing using UML ADs. We conclude that (1) UML ADs are not being used for non-functional testing, (2) only a few approaches have been validated against realistic, industrial case studies, (3) most approaches target very restricted application domains, and (4) there is currently a clear lack of holistic approaches for model-based testing using UML ADs.     

Towards a framework to characterize ubiquitous software projects

ContextUbiquitous Computing (or UbiComp) represents a paradigm in which information processing is thoroughly integrated into everyday objects and activities. From a Software Engineering point of view this development scenario brings new challenges in tailoring or building software processes, impacting current software technologies. However, it has not yet been explicitly shown how to characterize a software project with the perception of ubiquitous computing.ObjectiveThis paper presents a conceptual framework to support the characterization of ubiquitous software projects according to their ubiquity adherence level. It also intends to apply such characterization approach to some projects, aiming at observing their adherence with ubiquitous computing principles.MethodTo follow a research strategy based on systematic reviews and surveys to acquire UbiComp knowledge and organize a conceptual framework regarding ubiquitous computing, which can be used to characterize UbiComp software projects. Besides, to demonstrate its application by characterizing some software projects.ResultsUbiquitous computing encapsulates at least 11 different high abstraction level characteristics represented by 123 functional and 45 restrictive factors. Based on this a checklist was organized to allow the characterization of ubiquitous software projects, which has been applied on 26 ubiquitous software projects from four different application domains (ambient intelligence, pervasive healthcare, U-learning, and urban space). No project demonstrated to support more than 65% of the characteristics set. Service omnipresence was observed in all of these projects. However, some characteristics, although identified as necessary in the checklist, were not identified in any of them.ConclusionThere are characteristics that identify a software project as ubiquitous. However, a ubiquitous software project does not necessarily have to implement all of them. The application domain can influence the appearing of UbiComp characteristics in software projects, promoting an increase of their adherence to UbiComp and, thus, for additional software technologies to deal with these ubiquitous requirements.     

Links between the personalities,views and attitudes of software engineers

Context:Successful software development and management depends not only on the technologies, methods and processes employed but also on the judgments and decisions of the humans involved. These, in turn, are affected by the basic views and attitudes of the individual engineers.Objective:The objective of this paper is to establish if these views and attitudes can be linked to the personalities of software engineers.Methods:We summarize the literature on personality and software engineering and then describe an empirical study on 47 professional engineers in ten different Swedish software development companies. The study evaluated the personalities of these engineers via the IPIP 50-item five-factor personality test and prompted them on their attitudes towards and basic views on their professional activities.Results:We present extensive statistical analyses of their responses to show that there are multiple, significant associations between personality factors and software engineering attitudes. The tested individuals are more homogeneous in personality than a larger sample of individuals from the general population.Conclusion:Taken together, the methodology and personality test we propose and the associated statistical analyses can help find and quantify relations between complex factors in software engineering projects in both research and practice.     

FAME: A UML-based framework for modeling fuzzy self-adaptive software

Context: Software Fuzzy Self-Adaptation (SFSA) is a fuzzy control-based software self-adaptation paradigm proposed to deal with the fuzzy uncertainty existing in self-adaptive software. However, as many software engineers lack fuzzy control knowledge, it is difficult for them to design and model this kind of fuzzy self-adaptive software (F-SAS). Therefore, efficient and effective modeling technologies and tools are needed for the SFSA framework.Objective: This paper aims to identify modeling requirements of F-SAS and to provide a modeling framework to specify, design and model F-SAS systems. Such a framework can simplify modeling process of F-SAS and improve the accessibility of software engineers to the SFSA paradigm.Method: This study proposes a modeling framework called Fuzzy self-Adaptation ModEling (FAME). By extending UML, FAME creates three types of modeling views. An analysis view called Fuzzy Case Diagram is created to specify the fuzzy self-adaptation goal and the realization processes of this goal. A structure view called Fuzzy Class Diagram is created to describe the fuzzy concepts and structural characteristics of F-SAS. A behavior view called Fuzzy Sequence Diagram is created to depict the dynamic behaviors of the F-SAS systems. The framework is implemented as a plug-in of Enterprise Architect.Results: We demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed approach by carrying out a subject-based empirical evaluation. The results show that FAME framework can improve modeling quality of F-SAS systems by 44.38% and shorten modeling time of F-SAS systems by 38.41% in comparison with traditional UML. Thus, FAME can considerably ease the modeling process of F-SAS systems.Conclusion: FAME framework incorporates the SFSA concepts into standard UML. Therefore, it provides a direct support to model SFSA characteristics and improves the accessibility of software engineers to the SFSA paradigm. Furthermore, it behaves a good example and provides good references for modeling domain-specific software systems.     

An Introduction to Software Testing

The development of large software systems is a complex and error prone process. Faults might occur at any development stage and they must be identified and removed as early as possible to stop their propagation and reduce verification costs. Quality engineers must be involved in the development process since the very early phases to identify required qualities and estimate their impact on the development process. Their tasks span over the whole development cycle and go beyond the product deployment through maintenance and post mortem analysis. Developing and enacting an effective quality process is not a simple task, but it requires that we integrate many quality-related activities with product characteristics, process organization, available resources and skills, and budget constraints.This paper discusses the main characteristics of a good quality process, then surveys the key testing phases and presents modern functional and model-based testing approaches.     

Applying a selection method to choose Quality Attribute Techniques

ContextSoftware products have requirements on software quality attributes such as safety and performance. Development teams use various specific techniques to achieve these quality requirements. We call these “Quality Attribute Techniques” (QATs). QATs are used to identify, analyse and control potential product quality problems. Although QATs are widely used in practice, there is no systematic approach to represent, select, and integrate them in existing approaches to software process modelling and tailoring.ObjectiveThis research aims to provide a systematic approach to better select and integrate QATs into tailored software process models for projects that develop products with specific product quality requirements.MethodA selection method is developed to support the choice of appropriate techniques for any quality attribute, across the lifecycle. The selection method is based on three perspectives: (1) risk management; (2) process integration; and (3) cost/benefit using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). An industry case study is used to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of applying the selection method.ResultsThe case study demonstrates that the selection method provides a more methodological and effective approach to choose QATs for projects that target a specific quality attribute, compared to the ad hoc selection performed by development teams.ConclusionThe proposed selection method can be used to systematically choose QATs for projects to target specific product qualities throughout the software development lifecycle.     

Model-based reasoning: a principled approach for software engineering

The software engineering industry suffers from almost unmanageable complexity both in the products it produces and in the processes of production. One of the current shortcomings in the software production process is the weakness of the models used. This paper makes observations on the role of knowledge in engineering and examines the central role of models and simulation. We develop an argument for the application of certain new forms of modelling methods in software engineering in order to impose more discipline and give a principled framework for building models that can support the software life-cycle. The concept of a model is examined in depth and different characteristics and types of model are defined. This introduces the relatively new concept of qualitative models and their use in the field known as model-based reasoning. Unlike previous knowledge-based methods, model-based reasoning has several important advantages. Although very few model-based software projects exist, we illustrate how this approach can be developed by drawing on applications from traditional engineering. It is argued that, because qualitative modelling offers great power for addressing the issue of complexity, such models have considerable potential as high-level abstractions of software products. These could form the core of tools for the management and support of the software development process through the whole product life-cycle.     

A methodology for the selection of requirements engineering techniques

The complexity of software projects as well as the multidisciplinary nature of requirements engineering (RE) requires developers to carefully select RE techniques and practices during software development. Nevertheless, the selection of RE techniques is usually based on personal preference or existing company practice rather than on characteristics of the project at hand. Furthermore, there is a lack of guidance on which techniques are suitable for a certain project context. So far, only a limited amount of research has been done regarding the selection of RE techniques based on the attributes of the project under development. The few approaches that currently exist for the selection of RE techniques provide only little guidance for the actual selection process. We believe that the evaluation of RE techniques in the context of an application domain and a specific project is of great importance. This paper describes a Methodology for Requirements Engineering Techniques Selection (MRETS) as an approach that helps requirements engineers select suitable RE techniques for the project at hand. The MRETS has three aspects: Firstly, it aids requirements engineers in establishing a link between the attributes of the project and the attributes of RE techniques. Secondly, based on the evaluation schema proposed in our research, MRETS provides an opportunity to analyze RE techniques in detail using clustering. Thirdly, the objective function used in our approach provides an effective decision support mechanism for the selection of RE techniques. This paper makes contributions to RE techniques analysis, the application of RE techniques in practice, RE research, and software engineering in general. The application of the proposed methodology to an industrial project provides preliminary information on the effectiveness of MRETS for the selection of RE techniques.     

装备仿真测试技术研究

仿真测试技术是现代复杂武器装备设计与测试技术研究的一个重要领域。为深度强化技术方法研究，提出一种以基于模型的方法开展装备虚拟仿真测试思路，在软件环境建立产品子系统、整机系统和测试系统，对实际装备作业工况进行虚拟测试，完成与实际测试相同或类似的装备测试任务。结合仿真测试系统的硬件特点，重点阐述了基于模型虚拟测试技术的关键技术。通过具体虚拟试验系统的研究应用，表明所提出的装备仿真测试技术能够改变长期以来的测试理念和手段，为产品研发、故障诊断提供了有效的改进思路和数据支持。     

Automated refactoring to the Strategy design pattern

ContextThe automated identification of code fragments characterized by common design flaws (or “code smells”) that can be handled through refactoring, fosters refactoring activities, especially in large code bases where multiple developers are engaged without a detailed view on the whole system. Automated refactoring to design patterns enables significant contributions to design quality even from developers with little experience on the use of the required patterns.ObjectiveThis work targets the automated identification of refactoring opportunities to the Strategy design pattern and the elimination through polymorphism of respective “code smells” that are related to extensive use of complex conditional statements.MethodAn algorithm is introduced for the automated identification of refactoring opportunities to the Strategy design pattern. Suggested refactorings comprise conditional statements that are characterized by analogies to the Strategy design pattern, in terms of the purpose and selection mode of strategies. Moreover, this work specifies the procedure for refactoring to Strategy the identified conditional statements. For special cases of these statements, a technique is proposed for total replacement of conditional logic with method calls of appropriate concrete Strategy instances. The identification algorithm and the refactoring procedure are implemented and integrated in the JDeodorant Eclipse plug-in. The method is evaluated on a set of Java projects, in terms of quality of the suggested refactorings and run-time efficiency. The relevance of the identified refactoring opportunities is verified by expert software engineers.ResultsThe identification algorithm recalled, from the projects used during evaluation, many of the refactoring candidates that were identified by the expert software engineers. Its execution time on projects of varying size confirmed the run-time efficiency of this method.ConclusionThe proposed method for automated refactoring to Strategy contributes to simplification of conditional statements. Moreover, it enhances system extensibility through the Strategy design pattern.     

InRob: An approach for testing interoperability and robustness of real-time embedded software

Advances in digital technologies have contributed for significant reduction in accidents caused by hardware failures. However, the growing complexity of functions performed by embedded software has increased the number of accidents caused by software faults in critical systems. Moreover, due to the highly competitive market, software intensive subsystems are usually developed by different suppliers. Often these subsystems are required to interact with each other in order to provide a collaborative service. Testing approaches for subsystems integration support verification of the quality of service, focusing on the subsystems interfaces. The increasing complexity and tight coupling of real-time subsystems make integration testing unmanageable. The ad-hoc approach for testing is becoming less effective and more expensive. This article presents an integration testing approach denominated InRob, designed to verify the interoperability and robustness related to timing constraints of real-time embedded software. InRob guides the construction of services, based on formal models, aiming at the specifications of interoperability and robustness of test cases related to delays and time-outs of the messages exchanged in the interfaces of interconnected subsystems. The proposed formalism supports automatic test cases generation by verifying the relevant properties in the service behavioral model. As timing constraints are critical properties of aerospace systems, the feasibility of InRob is showed in the integration testing process of a telescope onboard in a satellite. The process is instantiated with existing testing tools and the case study is the software embedded in the telescope.     

Toward synergistic engineering of computer systems

Our objective is to provide a forum for sharing problems, experiences, and solutions that can help establish bridges among hardware engineers, software engineers, systems engineers, and project managers. We seek to publicize innovative solutions and engineering methodologies that address: complexity, model-based engineering (as exemplified by hardware/software codesign), and process management. We believe these three areas are critical to advancing the successful, integrated engineering of computer-based systems     

基于模型的软件测试综述

随着面向对象软件开发技术的广泛应用和软件测试自动化的要求，特别是基于UML的软件开发技术的逐渐普及，基于模型的软件测试逐渐得到了软件开发人员和软件测试人员的认可和接受。针对被测试软件的不同特征和不同测试目的，已经提出了多种测试模型。本文详细阐述了基于模型的软件测试研究现状和应用现状，并对测试中使用的不同模型进行了比较，着重介绍了状态机模型、UML模型和马尔可夫链模型。最后提出了未来的研究方向。     

Synthesizing test scenarios in UML activity diagram using a bio-inspired approach

The model-based analysis is receiving a wide acceptance as compare to code-based analysis in the context of prioritizing and guiding the testing effort and speeding up the development process. Ordinarily, system analysts as well as developers follow Unified Modeling Language (UML) activity diagrams to render all realizable flows of controls commonly recognized as scenarios of use cases. This paper applies a bio-inspired algorithm to produce test scenarios for the concurrent section in UML activity diagram. Here, the heuristic draws its inspiration from the internal mechanism of the slime mould Physarum Polycephalum, a large single-celled amoeboid organism. Simulations are performed using eight subject systems taken from the LINDHOLMEN data-set, two models taken from real life student projects and five synthetic models. The results obtained through different approaches are validated through the statistical analysis which demonstrates that our proposed approach is better than the existing Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) and Genetic Algorithm (GA) by a number of feasible test scenarios generated.     

Body of knowledge for software quality measurement

Measuring quality is the key to developing high-quality software. The author describes two approaches that help to identify the body of knowledge software engineers need to achieve this goal. The first approach derives knowledge requirements from a set of issues identified during two standards efforts: the IEEE Std. 1061-1998 for a Software Quality Metrics Methodology and the American National Standard Recommended Practice for Software Reliability (ANSI/AIAA R-013-1992). The second approach ties these knowledge requirements to phases in the software development life cycle. Together, these approaches define a body of knowledge that shows software engineers why and when to measure quality. Focusing on the entire software development life cycle, rather than just the coding phase, gives software engineers the comprehensive knowledge they need to enhance software quality and supports early detection and resolution of quality problems. The integration of product and process measurements lets engineers assess the interactions between them throughout the life cycle. Software engineers can apply this body of knowledge as a guideline for incorporating quality measurement in their projects. Professional licensing and training programs will also find it useful     

Model-based testing for software safety: a systematic mapping study

Testing safety-critical systems is crucial since a failure or malfunction may result in death or serious injuries to people, equipment, or environment. An important challenge in testing is the derivation of test cases that can identify the potential faults. Model-based testing adopts models of a system under test and/or its environment to derive test artifacts. This paper aims to provide a systematic mapping study to identify, analyze, and describe the state-of-the-art advances in model-based testing for software safety. The systematic mapping study is conducted as a multi-phase study selection process using the published literature in major software engineering journals and conference proceedings. We reviewed 751 papers and 36 of them have been selected as primary studies to answer our research questions. Based on the analysis of the data extraction process, we discuss the primary trends and approaches and present the identified obstacles. This study shows that model-based testing can provide important benefits for software safety testing. Several solution directions have been identified, but further research is critical for reliable model-based testing approach for safety.     

An architectural model for software testing lesson learned systems

ContextSoftware testing is a key aspect of software reliability and quality assurance in a context where software development constantly has to overcome mammoth challenges in a continuously changing environment. One of the characteristics of software testing is that it has a large intellectual capital component and can thus benefit from the use of the experience gained from past projects. Software testing can, then, potentially benefit from solutions provided by the knowledge management discipline. There are in fact a number of proposals concerning effective knowledge management related to several software engineering processes.ObjectiveWe defend the use of a lesson learned system for software testing. The reason is that such a system is an effective knowledge management resource enabling testers and managers to take advantage of the experience locked away in the brains of the testers. To do this, the experience has to be gathered, disseminated and reused.MethodAfter analyzing the proposals for managing software testing experience, significant weaknesses have been detected in the current systems of this type. The architectural model proposed here for lesson learned systems is designed to try to avoid these weaknesses. This model (i) defines the structure of the software testing lessons learned; (ii) sets up procedures for lesson learned management; and (iii) supports the design of software tools to manage the lessons learned.ResultsA different approach, based on the management of the lessons learned that software testing engineers gather from everyday experience, with two basic goals: usefulness and applicability.ConclusionThe architectural model proposed here lays the groundwork to overcome the obstacles to sharing and reusing experience gained in the software testing and test management. As such, it provides guidance for developing software testing lesson learned systems.     

Hypermedia Support for Software Development: A Retrospective Assessment

Hypermedia technologies have been available for about a decade. Beginning with Douglas Engelbart, researchers have become interested in applying hypermedia concepts and technologies to software development. This paper assesses this symbiosis between hypermedia and software development as described by research contributions; by our count, more than one hundred articles. To date, no collection of, or guide to, this literature has been published. A number of significant contributions are classified, described, and appraised — providing a guide into what has been a rich but perhaps under-reported research area. Hypermedia has made significant contributions to software development in three primary areas: coping with massive amounts of information associated with software development projects; establishing and maintaining linkages between various types of software engineering documents; and enabling development engineers to record, document, and preserve knowledge about development thoughts, processes and rationale. These contributions may help direct the focus of future research towards building on, combining and assessing the resulting contributions. A research agenda is proposed along these lines.