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Applying Model-Based Testing in the Telecommunication Domain
Fredrik Abbors, Veli-Matti Aho, Jani Koivulainen, Risto Teittinen, Dragos Truscan, Applying Model-Based Testing in the Telecommunication Domain. In: Justyna Zander, Ina Schieferdecker, Pieter J. Mosterman (Eds.), Model-Based Testing for Embedded Systems, 450, CRC Press, 2011.
Abstract:
Model-based testing is an interesting concept for industry compared to traditional testing where tests are designed and implemented manually. Automatic test case generation guarantees to catch the attention in the industry. However, testing of commercial products is much more than test case implementation. Adopting a new technology requires its integration with the existing ones. That is why deployment of a new tool or a new technology in a large organisation is far from being trivial.
Here we present an approach using model-based testing in the telecommunication domain, applied in an industrial environment at Nokia Siemens Networks. The approach started as an evaluation of model-based testing taking into account the complexity and the requirements of industrial product development. The intention was to evalute benefits and drawbacks of the model-based testing compared to test scripting oriented product testing in a large organisation.
Our approach is based on modelling the system under test (SUT) and parts of its environment according to a specific process description. First, models are created using a systematic modelling approach in which several perspectives of the system, such as network architecture, behavior, data, and test configuration are described. The resulting models are given as an input for a test generation tool that produces executable test cases. A number of specific issues are emphasized in our approach: the quality of the models is verified according to a set of verification rules such that the quality of the generated test cases is increased, requirements are tracked through the whole process to support requirement coverage monitoring, and the analysis of test results (including tracking-back generated test cases to models) has received special attention because it can be very time consuming task in testing.
The approach is applied in an industrial case study in which a MSC Server (MSS) acts as the system under test. The MSS is a network element of 2$^{nd}$ and 3$^{rd}$ generation telecommunication networks that is capable of handling up to few millions of subscribers and at the same time provide close to zero downtime.
In this chapter, we will discuss different aspects of our model-based testing process covering the description of different phases and steps, of the languages and tools used, and of the artifacts created and used in each phase. In addition, we will discuss aspects related to interconnecting different tools in a smooth tool chain. Throughout the chapter we will also share our experience and observations gained in this case study.
BibTeX entry:
@INBOOK{cAbAhKoTeTr11a,
title = {Applying Model-Based Testing in the Telecommunication Domain},
booktitle = {Model-Based Testing for Embedded Systems},
author = {Abbors, Fredrik and Aho, Veli-Matti and Koivulainen, Jani and Teittinen, Risto and Truscan, Dragos},
editor = {Zander, Justyna and Schieferdecker, Ina and Mosterman, Pieter J.},
publisher = {CRC Press},
pages = {450},
year = {2011},
}
Belongs to TUCS Research Unit(s): Software Engineering Laboratory (SE Lab)