Software Maintenance Analysis Tool for Dependent Bug Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity of maintaining large software systems is heightened due to module dependencies, where changes to one module can affect other modules, making it difficult to ensure all affected modules operate correctly during maintenance.
Innovation Solution
An analysis tool identifies dependent bug fixes and use cases affected by a specific bug fix, allowing testing professionals to retest critical bugs and ensure all related features function properly, thereby simplifying the maintenance process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual testing of all affected modules is performed after a bug fix, then reliability is improved, but time consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an analysis tool as an intermediary between the bug fix and the testing process. This tool automatically traces module dependencies and identifies affected modules, replacing manual tracing efforts and enabling efficient determination of retesting scope without requiring testers to manually analyze all module interactions
Solution Approach 2:
The analysis tool performs preliminary analysis of module dependencies before testing begins. By pre-establishing the dependency relationships and identifying affected modules in advance, the system prepares the testing scope beforehand, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual assessment during the maintenance process
2Reliability
If comprehensive testing of all modules is conducted to ensure correctness, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the testing process by dividing all modules into two categories: affected modules that require retesting and unaffected modules that do not. This segmentation is achieved through automatic dependency tracing, which isolates only the necessary testing scope, reducing the complexity of managing comprehensive testing across the entire system
3Measurement precision
If detailed tracking of all module dependencies is maintained, then measurement precision is improved, but information management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The analysis tool performs self-service by automatically tracing module dependencies and generating the list of affected modules without requiring manual intervention. The tool autonomously analyzes the module relationships, executes the tracing process, and presents the results, eliminating the need for complex manual tracking procedures while maintaining high identification accuracy
Data Source
AI summary
An aspect of the present invention simplifies maintenance of a software system by indicating the additional bug fixes that are to be tested when a bug is indicated to be fixed. In an embodiment, a user is required to indicate a list of software units and a first bug to indicate that the list of software units have been modified to fix the first bug. An analysis tool identifies a list of use cases, with each use case requiring execution of at least one of the list of software units. The analysis tool then determines a set of dependent bugs fixed earlier in the software system, where each of the set of dependent bugs affects at least one of the list of use cases. The set of dependent bugs are displayed as requiring further testing in view of fixing of the first bug.