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Model-based test case generation from UML sequence diagrams using extended finite state machines

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Abstract

The effectiveness of model-based testing (MBT) is mainly due to its potential for automation. If the model is formal and machine-readable, test cases can be derived automatically. One of the most used formal modeling techniques is the interpretation of a system as an extended finite state machine (EFSM). However, formal models are not a common practice in the industry. The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has become the de facto standard for software modeling. Nevertheless, due to the lack of formal semantics, its diagrams can be given ambiguous interpretations and are not suitable for testing automation. This article introduces a systematic procedure for the generation of tests from UML models that uses concepts of model-driven engineering (MDE) for formalizing UML sequence diagrams into extended finite state machines and providing a precise semantics for them. It also applies ModelJUnit and JUnit libraries for an automatic generation of test cases. A case study was conducted in a real software towards the evaluation of its applicability.

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Notes

  1. International consortium of companies that define and ratify standards in the area of object orientation.

  2. https://github.com/TESTSD2EFSM/SQJO

  3. SPIN as a general tool for verifying the correctness of distributed software models in a rigorous and mostly automated fashion.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions. This investigation was partially funded by FAPESP (grants 2013/07375-0 and 2019/06937-0).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ciências Matemáticas e de Computação (ICMC), USP, São Carlos, SP, Brazil

    Mauricio Rocha & Adenilso Simão

  2. Centro de Tecnologia e Urbanismo (CTU), UESPI, Teresina, PI, Brazil

    Thiago Sousa

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  1. Mauricio Rocha
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  2. Adenilso Simão
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  3. Thiago Sousa
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Correspondence to Mauricio Rocha.

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Rocha, M., Simão, A. & Sousa, T. Model-based test case generation from UML sequence diagrams using extended finite state machines. Software Qual J 29, 597–627 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11219-020-09531-0

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