Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE credits
Background: Testing is an integral component of the software development process. It demands both time and resources. Model-based testing (MBT) is a testing strategy that automates the testing process and generates test cases using formal models. In this way, model-based testing enables its users to efficiently manage and complete testing tasks while keeping costs to a minimum. Online MBT is a subset of MBT that runs models against the Software Under Test (SUT) in real-time, enabling continuous testing and early problem identification. For testing complicated software systems, online MBT can be especially helpful. Numerous open-source online MBT tools have been created in recent years to facilitate online MBT activities.
Objectives: This study aims to conduct a systematic mapping study of the online test generation capabilities of open-source model-based testing tools. The purpose of this study is to present the current online Model-based testing tools; to investigate the actual solution provided by online Model-based testing tools; to present the research topics addressed in relation to online MBT tools; to present the online MBT tools' capabilities in terms of model specification, test generation, test description, and overall support; and to present the pros and cons of the aforementioned online MBT tools.
Method: To achieve the study's objective, the author conducted a systematic mapping study of the relevant literature. A systematic mapping study on online MBT tools was presented. In this study, research questions, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the snowballing technique were employed; however, this study was limited to a classification of online MBT tools, and the systematic mapping study was used to analyze online MBT tools based on the actual solution provided, research topics addressed, MBT tools capabilities in terms of model specification and test generation, as well as their advantages and disadvantages.
Results: One of the most studied online MBT tools, Uppaal, was renowned for its capacity to simplify the SUT model's structural complexity during test production. Other research areas in model-based testing included distributed online test generation, model-checking techniques to test suite generation, and hybrid online testing for communication-based railway control systems. Using model-based methodologies, researchers also investigated automated test-suite execution, on-the-fly testing, and multilingual website testing. The main disadvantage of using online MBT tools was the need for additional research to ensure proper library functionality and the potential for producing test suites with unreasonable characteristics. The benefits of using online MBT tools included significant performance improvements and increased accuracy in uncertainty quantification.
Conclusion: These findings can assist the research community in identifying the current online MBT tools, solutions, research topics, advantages, disadvantages, and research gaps on online MBT tools, as well as possible future research directions.
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