GENERATING AN EVOLVING SET OF TEST CASES

• US 20160117239A1
• Filed: 10/24/2014
• Published: 04/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hamilton, Rick A. II, Martinez Hernandez Magro, Agueda, Hernandez Nevarez, Jorge Alonso, Mosqueda Mejia, Jose Roberto
• Granted Patent: US 10,127,143 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3664 Environments for testing or debugging software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3668 Software testing software testing in telephone exchanges H04M3/242, testing of hardware G06F11/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3684 for test design, e.g. generating new test cases

Abstract

A method, system and computer program product for defining an evolving set of test cases for testing software applications. In an embodiment, the method comprises identifying a set of criteria for the test cases; assigning a weight to each of the criteria; and for each of a multitude of test cases, assigning a value to each of the criteria, and determining a criteria score for the test case based on the values assigned to the criteria for the test case and the weights assigned to the criteria. Each of the test cases is assigned to one of a plurality of groups based on the criteria scores. Each of the groups of test cases is associated with one of a plurality of testing procedures, and one of those procedures is selected to test a software application using the group of test cases associated with that selected testing procedure.

Claims

1. A method of defining an evolving set of test cases for testing software applications, the method comprising:

identifying a set of criteria for the test cases;

assigning a weight to each of the criteria;

for each of a multitude of specified test cases, assigning a value to each of the criteria, and determining a criteria score for the each test case based on the values assigned to the criteria for the each test case and the weights assigned to the criteria;

assigning each of the test cases to one of a plurality of groups based on the criteria scores for the test cases, wherein each of a plurality of testing procedures is associated with one of said groups; and

selecting one of the testing procedures to test a given software application using the group of test cases associated with the selected one of the testing procedures.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the set of criteria includes a defined social media criteria.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the assigning a value to each of the criteria includes:

identifying specified comments in a defined social media platform about the software application;

analyzing the identified specified comments; and

using said analyzing to determine the value assigned to said social media criteria.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of testing procedures include automated testing and regression testing.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the assigning each of the test cases to one of a plurality of groups includes re-assigning the test cases among the plurality of groups at specified times.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the re-assigning the test cases includes:

adjusting the weights assigned to each of the criteria to obtain adjusted weights;

determining new criteria scores for each of the test cases using said adjusted weights; and

re-assigning the test cases among the plurality of groups based on the new criteria scores.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the set of criteria includes a defined complexity of the software application.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the assigning each of the test cases to one of a plurality of groups includes:

ranking the test cases based on the criteria scores for the test cases; and

assigning each of the test cases to one of the plurality of groups based on said ranking.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the ranking the test cases includes:

ranking the test cases based on the criteria scores to obtain a ranked list of the test cases; and

a test manager removing one or more of the test cases from the ranked list.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identifying a set of criteria includes a test manager changing the criteria.

11. A system for defining an evolving set of test cases for testing software applications, the system comprising:

a business analytics processor to obtain data about a multitude of test cases and a given software application; and

a regression set processor for obtaining and processing data from the business analytics processor to determine a criteria score for each of the multitude of test cases and to assign each of the test cases to one of a plurality of groups based on the criteria scores for the test cases, wherein each of a plurality of testing procedures is associated with one of the group of test cases, plurality of testing procedures for testing the given software application using one of said group of test cases, including

for each of the multitude of test cases, assigning a value to each of the criteria, and determining the criteria score for the each test case based on the values assigned to the criteria for the each test case and the weights assigned to the criteria, and

outputting a list of the test cases to a user.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the regression set processor gathers information on which functions of the given software application to test, classifies the test cases, and provides a ranked list to the user.

13. The system according to claim 11, wherein the business analytics processor generates a list of functionalities of the given software application that need to be tested based on specified factors.

14. The system according to claim 11, wherein:

the given software application has a number of existing defects;

over a period of time, specified changes have been made to the software application; and

said specified factors include the number of said existing defects, a defined complexity of the given software application, how much of the software application has been changed, and the types of said specified changes.

15. The system according to claim 11, further comprising:

an internal social network platform for providing a forum for comments about the given software application, said comments including defined tags to identify a measure of a complexity of the given software application; and

wherein;

the internal social network platform includes a code complexity processor to analyze the defined tags and classify the complexity of the given software application.

16. An article of manufacture comprising:

at least one tangible computer readable hardware device having computer readable program code logic tangibly embodied therein to define an evolving set of test cases for testing software applications, the computer readable program code logic, when executing on a computer, performing the following;

identifying a set of criteria for the test cases;

assigning a weight to each of the criteria;

for each of a multitude of specified test cases, assigning a value to each of the criteria, and determining a criteria score for the each test case based on the values assigned to the criteria for the each test case and the weights assigned to the criteria;

assigning each of the test cases to one of a plurality of groups based on the criteria scores for the test cases, wherein each of a plurality of testing procedures is associated with one of said groups; and

selecting one of the testing procedures to test a given software application using the group of test cases with which the selected one of the testing procedures is associated.

17. The article of manufacture according to claim 16, wherein the set of criteria includes a defined social media criteria.

18. The article of manufacture according to claim 16, wherein the assigning a value to each of the criteria includes:

identifying specified comments in a defined social media platform about the software application;

analyzing the identified specified comments; and

using said analyzing to determine the value assigned to said social media criteria.

19. The article of manufacture according to claim 16, wherein the plurality of testing procedures include automated testing and regression testing.

20. The article of manufacture according to claim 16, wherein the assigning each of the test cases to one of a plurality of groups includes re-assigning the test cases among the plurality of groups at specified times.