Automated testing from specifications

Software verification and validation forms the single largest cost component in safety-critical software intensive systems. The minimal requirement when verifying or validating a safety critical system is a correct and testable specification that is unambiguous, consistent and complete. There are few frameworks currently available that provide all three properties. The SpecTRM Level 3 model is a black box Boolean specification of system behavior that is unambiguous, complete, consistent and testable. The syntax and semantics of SpecTRM-RL (Specification Toolkit for Requirements Modeling Requirements Language) are clearly specified, allowing us automate test case generation. In the paper, we present a three-stage architecture for test case generation. Test data generation is carried out using the inputs specification in the model to partition the input domain. Test data selection is based on impact of the test case on the outcome of the Boolean formulae that comprise the specification. The executability of the model is exploited by using it as an oracle to determine pass-fail criteria.

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