Estimation model for software testing

Testing of software applications and assurance of compliance have become an essential part of Information Technology (IT) governance of organizations. Over the years, software testing has evolved into a specialization with its own practices and body of knowledge. Test estimation consists of the estimation of effort and working out the cost for a particular level of testing, using various methods, tools, and techniques. An incorrect estimation often leads to inadequate amount of testing which, in turn, can lead to failures of software systems when they are deployed in organizations. This research work has first established the state of the art of software test estimation, followed by the proposal of a Unified Framework for Software Test Estimation. Using this framework, a number of detailed estimation models have been designed next for functional testing. The ISBSG database has been used to investigate the estimation of software testing. The analysis of the ISBSG data has revealed three test productivity patterns representing economies and diseconomies of scale, based on which the characteristics of the corresponding projects were investigated. The three project groups related to the three productivity patterns were found to be statistically significant, and characterised by application domain, team size, elapsed time, and rigour of verification and validation throughout development. Within each project group, the variations in test efforts could be explained by the activities carried out during the development and processes adopted for testing, in addition to functional size. Two new independent variables, the quality of the development processes (DevQ) and the quality of testing processes (TestQ), were identified as influential in the estimation models. Portfolios of estimation models were built for different data sets using combinations of the three independent variables. At estimation time, an estimator could choose the project group by mapping the characteristics of the project to be estimated to the attributes of the project group, in order to choose the model closest to it. The quality of each model has been evaluated using established criteria such as R2, Adj R2, MRE, MedMRE and Maslow’s Cp. Models have been compared using their predictive performance, adopting new criteria proposed in this research work. Test estimation models using functional size measured in COSMIC Function Points have exhibited better quality and resulted in more accurate estimation, compared to functional size measured in IFPUG Function Points. A prototype software is now developed using statistical “R” programming language, incorporating portfolios of estimation models. This test estimation tool can be used by industry and academia for estimating test efforts

Expression of peanut agglutinin-binding mucin-type glycoprotein in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma as a marker

BACKGROUND: The TF (Thomson – Friedenreich) blood group antigen behaves as an onco-foetal carcinoma-associated antigen, showing increased expression in malignancies and its detection and quantification can be used in serologic diagnosis mainly in adenocarcinomas. This study was undertaken to analyze the sera and tissue level detectable mucin-type glycoprotein (TF-antigen) by Peanut agglutinin (PNA) and its diagnostic index in serum as well tissues of human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma as marker. RESULTS: We examined 100 patients for serological analysis by Enzyme Linked Lectin Assay (ELISA) and demonstrated a sensitivity of 87.5%, specificity of 90% and a positive predictive value of 95%. The immuno-histochemical localization of TF antigen by Fluorescence Antigen Technique (FAT) in 25 specimens of normal esophageal squamous epithelium specimens and 92 specimens with different grades of, allowed a quicker and more precise identification of its increased expression and this did not correlate with gender and tumor size. There was a positive correlation between membrane bound TF antigen expression with different histological progression, from well differentiated to poorly differentiated, determined by PNA binding. Specimens showed morphological changes and a pronounced increase in PNA binding in Golgi apparatus, secretory granules of the cytosol of well differentiated and an increased cell membrane labeling in moderately and poorly differentiated, when compared with ESCC and normal tissues. CONCLUSION: The authors propose that the expression of TF-antigen in human may play an important role during tumorigenesis establishing it as a chemically well-defined carcinoma-associated antigen. Identification of the circulating TF-antigen as a reactive form and as a cryptic form in the healthy individuals, using PNA-ELLA and Immunohistochemical analysis of TF antigen by FAT is positively correlated with the different histological grades as a simple and cost-effective method for the early diagnosis of ESCC. The present study reveals that, during tumorigenesis, an aberrant glycosylation takes place in Golgi apparatus leading to over secretion of TF antigen into the cytoplasm along with mucin granules and later into cell membrane. We suggest that the further characterization of TF antigen may unravel pathogenetic aspects of this silent disease

A Survey of Software Test Estimation Techniques

Copyright © 2013 Kamala Ramasubramani Jayakumar, Alain Abran. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Software testing has become a primary business for a number of IT services companies, and estimation, which remains a challenge in software development, is even more challenging in software testing. This paper presents an overview of software test estimation techniques surveyed, as well as some of the challenges that need to be overcome if the founda-tions of these software testing estimation techniques are to be improved