123,343 research outputs found
An experiment in software reliability: Additional analyses using data from automated replications
A study undertaken to collect software error data of laboratory quality for use in the development of credible methods for predicting the reliability of software used in life-critical applications is summarized. The software error data reported were acquired through automated repetitive run testing of three independent implementations of a launch interceptor condition module of a radar tracking problem. The results are based on 100 test applications to accumulate a sufficient sample size for error rate estimation. The data collected is used to confirm the results of two Boeing studies reported in NASA-CR-165836 Software Reliability: Repetitive Run Experimentation and Modeling, and NASA-CR-172378 Software Reliability: Additional Investigations into Modeling With Replicated Experiments, respectively. That is, the results confirm the log-linear pattern of software error rates and reject the hypothesis of equal error rates per individual fault. This rejection casts doubt on the assumption that the program's failure rate is a constant multiple of the number of residual bugs; an assumption which underlies some of the current models of software reliability. data raises new questions concerning the phenomenon of interacting faults
AM-OER: An Agile Method for the Development of Open Educational Resources
Open Educational Resources have emerged as important elements of education in the contemporary society, promoting life-long and personalized learning that transcends social, eco- nomic and geographical barriers. To achieve the potential of OERs and bring impact on education, it is necessary to increase their development and supply. However, one of the current challenges is how to produce quality and relevant OERs to be reused and adapted to different contexts and learning situations. In this paper we proposed an agile method for the development of OERs – AM-OER, grounded on agile practices from Software Engineering. Learning Design practices from the OULDI project (UK Open University) are also embedded into the AM-OER aiming at improving quality and facilitating reuse and adaptation of OERs. In order to validate AM-OER, an experiment was conducted by applying it in the development of an OER on software testing. The results showed preliminary evidences on the applicability, effectiveness and ef ciency of the method in the development of OERs
Integrating testing techniques through process programming
Integration of multiple testing techniques is required to demonstrate high quality of software. Technique integration has three basic goals: incremental testing capabilities, extensive error detection, and cost-effective application. We are experimenting with the use of process programming as a mechanism of integrating testing techniques. Having set out to integrate DATA FLOW testing and RELAY, we proposed synergistic use of these techniques to achieve all three goals. We developed a testing process program much as we would develop a software product from requirements through design to implementation and evaluation. We found process programming to be effective for explicitly integrating the techniques and achieving the desired synergism. Used in this way, process programming also mitigates many of the other problems that plague testing in the software development process
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Using formal methods to support testing
Formal methods and testing are two important approaches that assist in the development of high quality software. While traditionally these approaches have been seen as rivals, in recent
years a new consensus has developed in which they are seen as complementary. This article reviews the state of the art regarding ways in which the presence of a formal specification can be used to assist testing
Software component testing : a standard and the effectiveness of techniques
This portfolio comprises two projects linked by the theme of software component testing, which is also
often referred to as module or unit testing. One project covers its standardisation, while the other
considers the analysis and evaluation of the application of selected testing techniques to an existing
avionics system. The evaluation is based on empirical data obtained from fault reports relating to the
avionics system.
The standardisation project is based on the development of the BC BSI Software Component Testing
Standard and the BCS/BSI Glossary of terms used in software testing, which are both included in the
portfolio. The papers included for this project consider both those issues concerned with the adopted
development process and the resolution of technical matters concerning the definition of the testing
techniques and their associated measures.
The test effectiveness project documents a retrospective analysis of an operational avionics system to
determine the relative effectiveness of several software component testing techniques. The methodology
differs from that used in other test effectiveness experiments in that it considers every possible set of
inputs that are required to satisfy a testing technique rather than arbitrarily chosen values from within
this set. The three papers present the experimental methodology used, intermediate results from a failure
analysis of the studied system, and the test effectiveness results for ten testing techniques, definitions for
which were taken from the BCS BSI Software Component Testing Standard.
The creation of the two standards has filled a gap in both the national and international software testing
standards arenas. Their production required an in-depth knowledge of software component testing
techniques, the identification and use of a development process, and the negotiation of the
standardisation process at a national level. The knowledge gained during this process has been
disseminated by the author in the papers included as part of this portfolio. The investigation of test
effectiveness has introduced a new methodology for determining the test effectiveness of software
component testing techniques by means of a retrospective analysis and so provided a new set of data that
can be added to the body of empirical data on software component testing effectiveness
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