Model based test suite minimization using metaheuristics

Software testing is one of the most widely used methods for quality assurance and fault detection purposes. However, it is one of the most expensive, tedious and time consuming activities in software development life cycle. Code-based and specification-based testing has been going on for almost four decades. Model-based testing (MBT) is a relatively new approach to software testing where the software models as opposed to other artifacts (i.e. source code) are used as primary source of test cases. Models are simplified representation of a software system and are cheaper to execute than the original or deployed system. The main objective of the research presented in this thesis is the development of a framework for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of test suites generated from UML models. It focuses on three activities: transformation of Activity Diagram (AD) model into Colored Petri Net (CPN) model, generation and evaluation of AD based test suite and optimization of AD based test suite. Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a de facto standard for software system analysis and design. UML models can be categorized into structural and behavioral models. AD is a behavioral type of UML model and since major revision in UML version 2.x it has a new Petri Nets like semantics. It has wide application scope including embedded, workflow and web-service systems. For this reason this thesis concentrates on AD models. Informal semantics of UML generally and AD specially is a major challenge in the development of UML based verification and validation tools. One solution to this challenge is transforming a UML model into an executable formal model. In the thesis, a three step transformation methodology is proposed for resolving ambiguities in an AD model and then transforming it into a CPN representation which is a well known formal language with extensive tool support. Test case generation is one of the most critical and labor intensive activities in testing processes. The flow oriented semantic of AD suits modeling both sequential and concurrent systems. The thesis presented a novel technique to generate test cases from AD using a stochastic algorithm. In order to determine if the generated test suite is adequate, two test suite adequacy analysis techniques based on structural coverage and mutation have been proposed. In terms of structural coverage, two separate coverage criteria are also proposed to evaluate the adequacy of the test suite from both perspectives, sequential and concurrent. Mutation analysis is a fault-based technique to determine if the test suite is adequate for detecting particular types of faults. Four categories of mutation operators are defined to seed specific faults into the mutant model. Another focus of thesis is to improve the test suite efficiency without compromising its effectiveness. One way of achieving this is identifying and removing the redundant test cases. It has been shown that the test suite minimization by removing redundant test cases is a combinatorial optimization problem. An evolutionary computation based test suite minimization technique is developed to address the test suite minimization problem and its performance is empirically compared with other well known heuristic algorithms. Additionally, statistical analysis is performed to characterize the fitness landscape of test suite minimization problems. The proposed test suite minimization solution is extended to include multi-objective minimization. As the redundancy is contextual, different criteria and their combination can significantly change the solution test suite. Therefore, the last part of the thesis describes an investigation into multi-objective test suite minimization and optimization algorithms. The proposed framework is demonstrated and evaluated using prototype tools and case study models. Empirical results have shown that the techniques developed within the framework are effective in model based test suite generation and optimizatio

Efficiency Dynamics and Financial Reforms: Case Study of Pakistani Banks

Banking sector in Pakistan were facing problems of weak health and low profitability due to various factors i.e. low productivity, high intermediation cost (high cost deposits), huge expenditures on establishment, over staffing, large number of loss making branches and mismanagement of funds etc. Owing to this, banking sector in Pakistan was under great deal of pressure to maintain their profitability. To overcome these issues, Pakistan undertook financial sector reforms in early 1990s with financial support of World Bank and Japanese government under the banking sector adjustment loan (BSAL) program. The main goal of these reforms was to improve the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) of financial system through separating ownership, management and strengthening the accountability mechanism. Using the data sets of 20 domestic commercial banks of Pakistan, this study is intended to measure the banking efficiency through Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Malmquist Index of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) from 1990 to 2005 to access the impact of reforms on banking sector. The analysis is useful not only for policy makers but it also assess the impact of reforms on domestic commercial banks of PakistanReforms, Banking, TFP analysis

Underemployment, Education, and Job Satisfaction

The economic role of human capital, particularly education has long been documented by economists and policy makers [Becker (1964)]. According to some observers view, educational system is an effective vehicle for producing the skills required to maintain growth in the economy.1 The versatile impact of education on every aspect of human existence makes it a vital area for policy framework especially for developing countries. Developing countries where majority of world’s population resides need to maximise productivity and capabilities of the advanced human capital. The benefits of education range from human to economic, social and cultural. At human level, education contributes in attractive self esteem and confidence leading towards empowerment. In Pakistan, there is significant rise in the average level of education, but over time, more and more workers incapable to use their educational background on the job. Two decades ago, it was judgment that supply of labour meeting the demand of labour. However in recent years, it is argued that supply of some skilled labour may have outstripped the demand of labour in some professions and high qualified peoples taking positions of low qualified peoples. Such underemployment/over-education has not been fully explored in Pakistan

Mutation Analysis for the Evaluation of AD Models

UML has became the industry standard for analysis and design modeling. Model is a key artifact in Model Driven Architect (MDA) and considered as an only concrete artifact available at earlier development stages. Error detection at earlier development stages can save enormous amount of cost and time. The article presents a novel mutation analysis technique for UML 2.0 Activity Diagram (AD). Based on the AD oriented fault types, a number of mutation operators are defined. The technique focuses on the key features of AD and enhances the confidence in design correctness by showing the absence of control-flow and concurrency related faults. It will enable the automated analysis technique of AD models and can potentially be used for service oriented applications, workflows and concurrent applications

A Max-Min Multiobjective Technique to Optimize Model Based Test Suite

Generally, quality software production seeks timely delivery with higher productivity at lower cost. Redundancy in a test suite raises the execution cost and wastes scarce project resources. In model-based testing, the testing process starts with earlier software developmental phases and enables fault detection in earlier phases. The redundancy in the test suites generated from models can be detected earlier as well and removed prior to its execution. The paper presents a novel max-min multiobjective technique incorporated into a test suite optimization framework to find a better trade-off between the intrinsically conflicting goals. For illustration two objectives i.e. coverage and size of a test suite were used however it can be extended to more objectives. The study is associated with model based testing and reports the results of the empirical analysis on four UML based synthetic as well as industrial Activity Diagram models

Harnessing the Potential of Blockchain in DevOps: A Framework for Distributed Integration and Development

As the use of DevOps practices continues to grow, organizations are seeking ways to improve collaboration, speed up development cycles, and increase security, transparency, and traceability. Blockchain technology has the potential to support these goals by providing a secure, decentralized platform for distributed integration and development. In this paper, we propose a framework for distributed DevOps that utilizes the benefits of blockchain technology that can eliminate the shortcomings of DevOps. We demonstrate the feasibility and potential benefits of the proposed framework that involves developing and deploying applications in a distributed environment. We present a benchmark result demonstrating the effectiveness of our framework in a real-world scenario, highlighting its ability to improve collaboration, reduce costs, and enhance the security of the DevOps pipeline. Conclusively, our research contributes to the growing body of literature on the intersection of blockchain and DevOps, providing a practical framework for organizations looking to leverage blockchain technology to improve their development processes.Comment: pages 10, figures

National Program, Local Response: Dynamic of Unconditional Cash Transfer Distribution to Poor Families in Maros Regency, Indonesia

This study aims to explore the implementation of social assistance programs in improving the welfare of the poor affected by Covid-19 in Maros Regency. This is based on the consideration that the Family Hope Program is a conditional social assistance program, namely Beneficiary Families in supporting the improvement of the welfare of the poor between generations. We investigated the contribution of various possible pathways to the program’s overall impact, including education, health, consumption, caregiver stress levels and life satisfaction, perceived social support, and participation in hard and unpleasant work. The method used is qualitative-explorative with a phenomenological approach, to explore the Unconditional Cash Transfer (BLT) program to help the poor during the COVID-19 pandemic in Maros Regency, data analysis using Nvivo 12 Pro to interpret phenomena more deeply to get the best findings. The results of this study underline that unconditional cash grants are used on a scale that is getting bigger as part of Indonesia’s national social protection system. Unconditional Cash Transfer (BLT) distributed to poor families in Maros Regency aims to ease the economic burden due to Covid-19 Pandemic. Then the Maros Regency Government integrated social programs in collaboration with the Central Government, Regional Social Institutions, and Ombudsman to help poor families avoid economic, health, and education difficulties during Covid-19 Pandemic in Maros Regency. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengeksplorasikan pelaksanaan program bantuan sosial dalam peningkatan kesejahteraan masyarakat miskin yang terdampak akibat Covid-19 di Kabupaten Maros. Hal ini didasarkan pertimbangan bahwa Program Keluarga Harapan adalah program bantuan social yang bersyarat, yaitu Keluarga Penerima Manfaat dalam mendukung peningkatan kesejahteraan masyarakat miskin antar generasi. Kami menyelidiki kontribusi berbagai kemungkinan jalur untuk dampak program secara keseluruhan, termasuk pendidikan, kesehatan, konsumsi, tingkat stress pengasuh dan kepuasan hidup, dukungan sosial yang dirasakan, dan partisipasi dalam kerja keras dan tidak menyenangkan. Metode yang digunakan kualitatif-eksploratif dengan pendekatan fenomenologi, untuk mengeksplorasikan program bantuan langsung tunai (BLT) untuk membantu masyrakat miskin di masa pandemi covid-19 di Kabupaten Maros, analisis data menggunakan Nvivo 12 Pro untuk menginterpertasikan fenomena lebih mendalam untuk mendapatkan temuan terbaik. Hasil penelitian ini menggarisbawahi bahwa hibah tunai tanpa syarat, yang digunakan dalam skala yang semakin besar sebagai bagian dari sistem perlindungan sosial nasional di Indonesia. Bantun Langsung Tunai (BLT) yang disalurkan untuk keluarga miskin di Kabupaten Maros bertujuan untuk meringankan beban ekonomi akibat pandemi covid-19. Kemudian Pemerintahan Kabupaten Maros melalukan integrasi program sosial yang bekerjasama dengan pemerintah pusat, lembaga social daerah, dan Ombusman untuk membantu keluarga miskin terhindar dari kesulitan ekonomi, Kesehatan dan pendidikan selama pandemi Covid-19 di Kabupaten Maros