Automated Test Case Generation via Equivalence Class Analysis
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for generating test cases for safety-critical software are time-consuming and only achieve structural code coverage, failing to efficiently test representative and error-prone values at the requirements-level.
Innovation Solution
The system and method for equivalence class analysis-based automated test case generation automatically identifies and tests equivalence classes, boundary values, and robustness tests by converting textual design requirements into machine-readable language, using set-based and formal methods to generate test cases that cover normal and abnormal ranges, thereby reducing testing complexity and time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If manual test case generation is used, then test quality and coverage can be controlled, but test generation time is excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by automatically generating test cases from requirements documents without extensive manual intervention. The automated test case generation system processes requirements, identifies test scenarios, and generates test cases independently, reducing the time investment required from manual creation while maintaining quality through systematic coverage of equivalence classes and boundary values.
2Productivity
If conventional automated test generation using statecharts is used, then test generation speed improves, but only structural code coverage is achieved without testing representative and error-prone values at requirements level
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the test coverage into multiple dimensions: equivalence class testing, boundary value testing, and error-prone value testing. This segmentation allows the system to systematically address different aspects of requirement coverage, ensuring both speed through automation and completeness by explicitly testing representative values (equivalence classes) and error-prone values (boundaries and abnormal ranges) at the requirements level.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from single-dimensional structural code coverage to multi-dimensional requirement-based coverage. By adding the dimension of requirements-level analysis, the system simultaneously achieves structural coverage and functional coverage through equivalence class and boundary value testing, thereby improving both productivity and test reliability.
3Ease of operation
If off-the-shelf tools are used for statechart-based test generation, then ease of operation improves, but test generation time becomes excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the operational parameters by processing requirements documents directly as input rather than relying on pre-defined statechart templates. This parameter change enables the system to handle diverse requirement formats while maintaining ease of operation through automated processing, thereby reducing test generation time without sacrificing usability.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for equivalence class analysis-based automated requirements-based test case generation includes a control processor, a data store containing textual design requirements, a textual converter unit structured to convert the textual design requirements to a machine-readable version of design requirements, a requirement partition unit configured to partition the machine-readable design requirements into one or more sets of related design requirements, an equivalence class partition unit configured to process the machine-readable design requirements and input/output variables into a set of equivalence classes, an equivalence class analyzer unit structured to analyze the set of equivalence classes to generate equivalence class tests and identify uncovered input space, and a boundary class analyzer unit structured to identify boundaries of the equivalence classes and generate boundary value tests and robustness tests. A method for equivalence class analysis-based automated requirements-based test case generation implementable on the system, and a non-transitory computer readable medium are also disclosed.