Overlap between Automated Unit and Acceptance Testing – a Systematic Literature Review
Jack van Heugten Breurkes, Fabian Gilson, Matthias Galster · 2022
Unit and automated acceptance testing have different objectives (e.g., testing units of code versus testing complete features). Testing practices (e.g., test-first, model-based) used for one “level” of testing (for either unit or acceptance testing) may require knowledge and skills that are not applicable to the other. This makes it difficult for practitioners to gain the skills required to effectively test at all levels and form a cohesive testing strategy. The aim of this systematic literature review is to understand whether there are any automated unit testing practices that have similarities with automated acceptance testing practices (and vice versa). Understanding these similarities can enable skill transfer across testing activities at different levels. This systematic literature review focuses on empirical research with an industry focus. We found that test-driven development (TDD) and model-based test generation (MBTG) are two practices widely researched for both unit testing and acceptance testing. For TDD we found that a design- and test-first mindset is required and helpful at both the unit and acceptance levels, but practitioners struggle with that practice. For MBTG we found that, despite its ability to increase code coverage, the additional manual effort to enable automated test generation may outweigh its benefits.