Determination Method to Identify Effective Software Testing Areas: Detection of Software Defects Related to External Specification Changes
✍ Scribed by Takeshi Kaneko; Takeshi Nakajo Members
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1990
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 961 KB
- Volume
- 21
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0882-1666
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Abstract
A tremendous amount of time is spent in testing in the development of software products. Most of the test methods at present, however, are inefficient since the characters of the software defects are not well considered. From such a viewpoint, an efficient software test should be executed, taking into consideration the characteristics of the software defects. Examining the actual defects, it is found that a large number of defects exist due to specification changes. On the other hand, no testing method has been developed aiming at the detection defects of this type. Thus, it is necessary to develop a method of testing that can effectively detect the incorrect modifications accompanying the specification changes. As a result of detailed examinations of the actually produced defects due to specification changes, a concept called restriction element is introduced, and it is shown that the defects can adequately be described as the incorrect elimination/addition of that element. A theorem is shown which indicates when an incorrect elimination/addition of restriction element is produced, which of the input areas contain the data producing a behavior different from the specification. A method of determining test input areas is proposed based on that theorem. The test, based on the proposed determination of the test input area, can securely and effectively detect the incorrect modification accompanying the change of external specifications.