Towards software architecture-based regression testing

When architecting dependable systems, in addition to improving system dependability by means of construction (fault-tolerant and redundant mechanisms, for instance), it is also important to evaluate, and thereby confirm, system dependability. There are many different approaches for evaluating system dependability, and testing always has been an important one. Previous work on software architecture testing has shown it is possible to apply conformance-testing techniques to yield confidence that the behavior of an implemented system conforms to the expected behavior of the software architecture, specified with Architecture Description Languages. In this work, we explore how regression testing can be systematically applied at the software architecture level in order to reduce the cost of retesting modified systems, and also to assess the regression testability of the evolved system. We consider assessing both “top-down” and “bottom-up” evolution, i.e., whether a slightly modified implementation conforms to the initial architecture, and whether the (modified) implementation conforms an evolved architecture. A better understanding on how regression testing can be applied at the software architecture level will help us to assess and identify architecture with higher dependability.