16186547
Specification-based regression test selection with risk analysis
Regression testing is essential to ensure software quality. The test team applies a regression test suite to ensure that new or modified features do not regress (make worse) existing features. Although existing research has addressed many problems and put forward solutions, most regression test techniques are code-based. Code-based regression test selection is good for unit testing, but it has a scalability problem. When the size of the subject under test grows, it becomes hard to manage all the information and to create corresponding traceability matrices. In this paper, we describe a specification-based method for regression test selection.The basic model we use for describing requirements based on customer features or behaviors is the activity diagram, which is a notation of the Unified Modeling Language (UML). A process for identifying the affected test cases is presented. To summarize our approach, we select two kinds of regression tests: i) Targeted Tests, which ensure that important current customer features are still supported adequately in the new release and ii) Safety Tests, which are risk-directed, and ensure that potential problem areas are properly handled. Our test selection technique will be based on a practical risk analysis model.
8484723
Effective test metrics for test strategy evolution
How to measure a test process is a required competence for an effective software test manager. Effective test process measurement is essential for designing, evaluating and managing a cost-effective test strategy. Although some existing research has proposed many metrics for these purposes, most of those metrics are ignored or used individually. This paper summarizes a test process measurement pilot project of the IBM Electronic Commerce Development (ECD) test teams, and analyzes the effectiveness of using a "metric set" of complementary metrics for cost, time, and quality to measure the quality of test process based on the results of our project. Details are given for a "fictitious" project in order to explain the detailed considerations that go into adopting a cost-effective metric strategy. Further discussions about implementation problems, test wisdom learned in the project, and cost-effectiveness of the measurement activities and metrics are also presented. We conclude with suggestions for extensions of the work into the area of real-time, in-phase, in-process metrics.
14714015
Robust stability check of fractional order linear time invariant systems with interval uncertainties
For uncertain fractional-order linear time invariant (FO-LTI) systems with interval coefficients described in state space form, the robust stability check problem is solved for the first time in this paper. Both the checking procedure and the Matlab code are presented with two illustrative examples. The conservatism is shown to be small.
18395542
Adaptive Web Services Testing
Web services (WS) and service-oriented architecture (SOA) present a set of unique testing challenges. As services are distributed, it is necessary to test them using a distributed architecture. Furthermore, as these services may keep on changing, testing needs to be adaptive. This paper proposes an adaptive testing framework which can continuously learn and improve the built-in test strategies. The framework allows different test cases to be selected based on the recent test results. The framework also has a windowing mechanism to evaluate and select test cases.
37282807
Testing Web Services Using Progressive Group Testing
This paper proposes progressive group testing techniques to test large number of Web services (WS) available on Internet. At the unit testing level, the WS with the same functionality are tested in group using progressively increasing number of test cases. A small number of WS that scored best will be integrated into the real environment for operational testing. At the integration testing level, many composite services will be constructed and tested by group integration testing. The results of group testing at both unit and integration levels are verified by weighted majority voting mechanisms. The weights are based on the reliability history of the WS under test. A case study is designed and implemented, where the dependency among the test cases in WS is analyzed and used to generate progressive layers of test cases.
41090805
Distributed policy specification and enforcement in service-oriented business systems
Service-oriented computing (SOC) and Web services (WS) provide a flexible computing platform for electronic business and commerce. Introducing policy-based computing to service-oriented business systems adds another dimension of flexibility and security. While service composition and re-composition in service-oriented business systems allow major system reconstruction, policy-based computing can better deal with the small and routine changes of business processing. This paper reports our latest research on integrating policy-based computing into service-oriented business system and discusses its feasibility, benefits and cost. Under this research, we designed a policy specification and enforcement language PSEL for specifying system constraints and business rules. We implemented a runtime environment in which a service-oriented business system can be modeled, analyzed, deployed, and executed with policy enforcement. Automated tools have been developed to facilitate the entire development process. The cost of policy-based computing is experimentally evaluated
14613142
Coupled Bayesian Framework for Dual Energy Image Registration
Image registration for X-ray dual energy imaging is challenging due to the overlaid transparent layers (i.e., the bone and soft tissue) and the different appearances between the dual images acquired with X-rays at different energy spectra. Moreover, subpixel accuracy is necessary for good reconstruction of the bone and soft-tissue layers. This paper addresses these problems with a novel coupled Bayesian framework, in which the registration and reconstruction can effectively reinforce each other. With the reconstruction results, we can design accurate matching criteria for aligning the dual images, instead of treating them as multi-modality registration. Furthermore, prior knowledge of the bone and soft tissue can be exploited to detect poor reconstruction due to inaccurate registration; and hence correct registration errors in the coupled framework. A multiscale freeform registration algorithm is implemented to achieve subpixel registration accuracy. Promising results are obtained in the experiments.