Requirements Testing System for Automated Test Artifact Generation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current test automation systems face challenges in efficiently generating early test analysis and design artifacts from natural language specifications, particularly in determining testability, intent, category, and data artifacts, which are crucial for software development but often require manual and subjective processes.

Innovation Solution

A requirements testing system that analyzes requirement statements in natural language to automatically determine test artifacts such as testability, intent, category, and data, using pre-processing and parsing techniques to identify grammatical structures and apply rulesets for ambiguity, intent, and data extraction, thereby facilitating automated generation of test artifacts.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If manual processes are used to determine testability, intent, category, and data artifacts, then subjective human judgment can be applied, but the process requires significant manual effort and time

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetest artifact determination accuracyVSAvoidmanual processing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables self-service by automatically analyzing requirement statements and generating test artifacts (testability, intent, category, and data) without requiring manual human intervention. The analysis engine processes requirements autonomously using grammatical parsing and rule-based determination, eliminating the need for testers to manually examine each requirement statement.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanical manual process of test artifact determination with an automated computational system. The analysis engine uses grammatical parsers, pattern matching, and rule-based logic to substitute human cognitive processes with machine-based automated analysis, significantly reducing manual effort while maintaining determination accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Productivity

If automated systems are implemented for test artifact generation, then productivity increases, but the system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetest artifact generation efficiencyVSAvoidsystem architecture complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system is segmented into distinct functional modules: a grammatical parser component that analyzes sentence structure, an analysis engine that applies determination rules, and a test artifact generator that produces output. This modular segmentation allows each component to handle specific tasks independently, improving productivity while managing complexity through clear separation of concerns.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The analysis engine serves multiple functions by determining testability, intent, category, and data artifacts from the same grammatical analysis of requirement statements. This multi-functionality increases productivity by processing all test artifact types through a single automated system rather than requiring separate systems for each artifact type, thereby managing overall system complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Ease of operation

If natural language requirements are processed automatically, then manual effort is reduced, but ambiguity in natural language may lead to incorrect interpretations

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverequirement analysis simplicityVSAvoidtest artifact determination reliability
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the analysis engine evaluates determined test artifacts against the original requirement statements and grammatical structures. This feedback loop allows the system to identify and correct potential misinterpretations of ambiguous natural language, improving reliability while maintaining the ease of processing unstructured requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The grammatical parser performs preliminary action by analyzing and structuring natural language requirements before the main determination process. This preliminary grammatical analysis breaks down ambiguous sentences into structured components (subjects, verbs, objects, modifiers), reducing ambiguity early in the process and improving the reliability of subsequent test artifact determination while keeping the overall process simple.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS8935654B2Analysis system for test artifact generation
Publication Date: 2015.01.13 ACCENTURE GLOBAL SERVICES LTD
  • US8935654B2 patent drawing
  • US8935654B2 patent drawing
  • US8935654B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A requirements testing system facilitates the review and analysis of requirement statements for software applications. The requirements testing system generates test artifacts from the requirement statements. The test artifacts characterize the requirements statements to provide valuable analysis information that aids understanding whether the requirement statements are testable, what the intentions of the requirement statements are, and other useful analysis information. Because the system generates the analysis information from the requirement statements, the system provides benefits in terms of early feedback along the software application development timeline.