Model-based test prioritization heuristic methods and their evaluation
Bogdan Korel, George Koutsogiannakis, Luay H. Tahat · 2007
During regression testing, a modified system needs to be retested using the existing test suite. Since test suites may be very large, developers are interested in detecting faults in the system as early as possible. Test prioritization orders test cases for execution to increase potentially the chances of early fault detection during retesting. Most of the existing test prioritization methods are based on the code of the system, but model-based test prioritization has been recently proposed. System modeling is a widely used technique to model state-based systems. System models may not only be used to generate test cases but also to prioritize tests. In model-based prioritization, information collected during execution of a model is used to prioritize tests for execution. In this paper we present several model-based test prioritization heuristics. The major motivation to develop these heuristics was simplicity and effectiveness in early fault detection. We have conducted a small experimental study in which we experimentally compared model-based test prioritization heuristics. The results have shown that some simple heuristic methods can be as effective in early fault detection as more complex ones.