Automated Construction of Software Behavior Models

Automated Construction of Software Behavior Models by Ibrahim Khalil Ibrahim El-Far Thesis Advisor: James A. Whittaker, Ph.D. In recent published work, a novel yet simple concept has been shown to be useful in understanding and constructing models of software behavior. In the context of software testing, operational modes have been used to construct Markov chains, which have been, in turn, used to select tests and compute software quality metrics. We explore the behavior modeling problem in software testing as a state space enumeration problem. We present a framework for describing a software state space with operational modes, based on which an algorithm that automates the construction of behavior models for software systems is presented. These new findings are supported with detailed examples illustrating the construction process. Finally, we conclude with a summary and some perspectives on current and future work.