JP5163172B2 - Software test item editing support apparatus and software test item editing support method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a software test item editing support apparatus and software test item editing support method used for software testing, and more particularly, to a software test item editing support apparatus and software test item editing support method that contribute to the efficiency of software testing. .

  Software needs to be tested at the development stage to check its reliability. Taking a software module as a software component as an example, when performing a test, a test item including the software module to be tested, input data, and the expected execution result according to the input data is created. doing.

  In order to improve the quality of software modules, it is necessary to generate and test many test items created using different viewpoints and different test techniques. Therefore, even when testing the same software module, the test items increase as the viewpoint of the test and the types of test techniques used increase.

In order to deal with the increase in test items, a technology for automating the creation of test items when testing software has been proposed as a related technology of the present invention (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this related technique, various past test items are accumulated, and the user selects a test item from them, thereby reducing the burden of generating the test item.
JP 2005-332098 A (paragraph 0015, FIG. 2)

  As described above, although the burden of creating test items can be reduced by using the related technology of the present invention, in the software test, the test is performed by the number of created test items. For this reason, as the number of test items is increased in order to increase the quality of the software module, a greater number of test steps are required, and the software development takes longer.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a software test item editing support apparatus and a software test item editing support method capable of reducing the number of man-hours required for testing without changing the test content itself when testing a plurality of software. There is.

  In the present invention, (a) test item storage means for storing test items to be considered for integration when testing a plurality of predetermined software items among test items used for software testing, and (b) this test Correspondence table storage means for previously storing corresponding software and input data ranges in a plurality of predetermined software described above for each test item stored in the item storage means, and storing them as a correspondence table; (c) the test items described above A test for comparing input data ranges for each test item stored in the storage means using the correspondence table and determining whether a common input data range exists in at least a part of the plurality of predetermined software. It was determined that there was a common input data range for the item comparison means and (d) this test item comparison means. To and a test item editing means for editing the integration test item by summarizing the strike item as a single integrated test items in the software test item editing support device.

In the present invention, (a) when testing a plurality of predetermined software among test items used for software testing, a CPU that executes a predetermined control program selects test items to be considered for integration . (B) a plurality of predetermined items for each test item stored in the test item storage means in the test item storage step. A correspondence table storing step in which the corresponding software and the input data range in the software are stored in the correspondence table storage means provided in the storage device in advance as a correspondence table; (c) the test described above The CPU described above for each test item stored in the test item storage means in the item storage step By comparing the input data range using the correspondence table, and by the test item comparison step common input data range in at least some of the plurality of software it is determined whether there a predetermined described above, (d) the test itemized comparison step in common input data range is above the determined test items to be present the CPU, the test item editing step for editing the integration of test items by summarized as a single integrated test items Are provided in the software test item editing support method.

  As described above, according to the present invention, test items having a common input data range among a plurality of software are regarded as one test item, and the confirmation contents (output) are integrated. Therefore, the number of test executions can be reduced by reducing the number of test items. Is possible.

  Such a point of interest of the present invention will be briefly described before the description of the embodiment.

  The output of what the test is executed and what the execution result is confirmed depends on the purpose of each test. However, the input data given in the execution of the test may be the same. Even if the software modules are the same test target, the test item input data and output are often different depending on the purpose of the test, the test technique, the test designer, and the test tool. Therefore, when testing software, these test items are regarded as independent test items. As a result, all the test items are conventionally performed in the test, which requires a lot of man-hours.

  For example, consider the case where a certain program X is tested. There is a black box test as a test method of a program for verifying the function by focusing on the input and output of the software module. Like the black box test, this test is intended to confirm the correspondence between input data A and output B (processing for input data A). The input data is given as an input condition in the program specification. Assume that one arbitrary value A ′ is selected from “A <N”, and the test item “Program X becomes output B when input data A ′ is given” is selected.

  On the other hand, there is a white box test as a test method for performing a test focusing on the internal structure of the module. In a test for the purpose of confirming that the predetermined branch process K in the program X passes through like the white box test, the input data C to the program X necessary for passing through the branch process K is examined. Then, “P <C <Q” is derived from the program code as the condition of the input data C for passing through the branch process K, and one arbitrary value C ′ is selected from “P <C <Q”. Assume that the test item “Program X passes branch process K when input data C ′ is applied” is set.

  At this time, if there is input data E satisfying M <E <N and P <E <Q, the two test items are: “When program X gives input data E, it passes through branch process K and outputs B Can be combined into one test item.

  In the present invention, in a software test, for example, when there are a plurality of test items for which the same software module is to be tested, a test item having a common input data range is searched for among the test items, and the common input data range is used. The number of test items is substantially reduced by creating the test items and integrating the confirmation contents (output) of the existing test items into the test items.

  Next, the present invention will be described based on an embodiment.

  FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a software test item editing support apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The software test item editing support device 100 includes an input device 101, a data processing device 102 that processes data input from the input device 101, an output device 103 that outputs a result of the data processing device 102, and a data processing device 102. And a storage device 104 that stores predetermined items.

  Here, the data processing apparatus 102 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 111 and a control unit 113 including a memory 112 such as a hard disk storing a control program. For example, the data processing apparatus 102 can be configured by a normal personal computer. it can. The input device 101 can be configured by an input device such as a keyboard (not shown) or a mouse as a pointing device. Further, the output device 103 can be configured by an output device such as a display such as a liquid crystal display (not shown) or a printer. Further, the storage device 104 is an external storage device such as a hard disk or an optical disk or a semiconductor memory device via connection means such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) when the data processing device 102 is configured by a personal computer. Alternatively, it may be configured as a built-in memory originally provided in the personal computer.

  The data processing apparatus 102 can implement various functional components by the CPU 111 executing the above-described control program. In the case of the software test item editing support apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the data processing apparatus 102 includes a test item registration unit 121, an integrated software module candidate selection unit 122, an integrated test item candidate selection unit 123, and a common input. The data range review unit 124, the integration candidate test item registration unit 125, and the integration test item display unit 126 are functionally realized. Of course, at least a part of these can be configured as hardware.

  On the other hand, the storage device 104 stores a test item storage unit 131 that stores test items, a test item correspondence table 132 that holds a relationship between test items before integration and test items after integration, and integration that stores integrated test items. The test item storage unit 133 is provided.

  FIG. 2 specifically shows an example of the test item storage unit. The test item column in the test item storage unit 131 is composed of “test item number”, “target software module”, “input data range”, and “output (contents to be confirmed at the time of test execution based on expected results)”. Has been. The test item storage unit 131 stores an arbitrary number of these relationships of zero or more.

  FIG. 3 specifically shows an example of the test item correspondence table. As described above, the test item correspondence table 132 is a table that holds the relationship between the test items before integration and the test items after integration. In the test item correspondence table 132, any “zero or more” associations between “test item number” before integration, “integrated test item number” as the test item number after integration, and “target software module” The number is stored.

  FIG. 4 specifically shows an example of the contents stored in the integrated test item storage unit. The integrated test item storage unit 133 stores zero or more test items after integration. The column of test items includes “integrated test item number”, “target software module”, “input data range”, and “output”.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the data processing apparatus 102 will be described. The test item registration unit 121 is configured to register information on the test item input from the input device 101 in the test item storage unit 131. Here, the information regarding the test item includes “test item number”, “target software module”, “input data range”, and “output” as shown in the test item storage unit 131 of FIG. The integrated software module candidate selection unit 122 is a part that reads test items from the test item storage unit 131 and sequentially selects one software module name that has not yet been considered for integration of test items.

  The integrated test item candidate selection unit 123 selects one test item registered in the test item storage unit 131 as an integration target. Specifically, the integrated test item candidate selection unit 123 reads one or more test items from the test item storage unit 131 and tests the software module selected by the integrated software module candidate selection unit 122. Among them, select one test item that has not yet been considered for integration. This is referred to as an integration candidate test item. From the test item correspondence table 132, the test item numbers for which integration has been considered are also read.

  The common input data range review unit 124 refers to the test item correspondence table 132 illustrated in FIG. 3 and the integrated test item storage unit 133 illustrated in FIG. 4, and the integration selected by the integrated test item candidate selection unit 123. The input data range of the integration candidate test items is compared with the input data ranges of all integrated test items of the same target software module already registered in the test item correspondence table 132. Then, each integrated test item is examined for a common range.

  Based on the result of the common input data range examination unit 124, the integration candidate test item registration unit 125 registers the selected test item as a new integration test item as it is when there is no common part. . If there is a common part, the integration test item is updated only in the input data range of the common part, and the output of the test item to be integrated is newly added.

  The integrated test item display unit 126 displays the integrated test items read from the integrated test item storage unit 133 illustrated in FIG. 4 to the test designer via the output device 103.

  FIG. 5 shows the overall processing flow of the software test item editing support apparatus configured as described above. This will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the software test item editing support apparatus 100 checks whether or not the test item registration unit 121 has registered a test item (step S201). If the test designer performs an input operation for registering a test item using the input device 101, the registered content is stored as the stored content of the test item storage unit 131 as shown in FIG. Is displayed. If one or more test items are not registered (N), the registration process is waited.

  When the test item has been registered (step S201: Y), the integrated software module candidate selection unit 122 determines whether integration has been considered for all target software modules (step S202). As a result, if it is found that integration has been considered for all target software modules (Y), no further processing is required. Therefore, in this case, these integrated test items are output to the output device 103 (step S203), and the series of processing ends (end).

  On the other hand, when integration has not been studied for at least some of the target software modules (step S202: N), the test designer uses the input device 101 to select one unconsidered software module name. It is checked whether to select (step S204). If an unreviewed software module name is selected (Y), it is checked whether integration has already been considered for all test items that test the selected software module name (step S205). If these considerations have been made (Y), the process returns to step S202. If it is determined in step S202 that integration has been considered for all the software modules to be tested (Y), the process proceeds to step S203 as before.

  On the other hand, if there is a software module that is not yet considered for integration (step S202: N), the process proceeds to step S205, and one software module name is selected. Will be. The same applies hereinafter.

  By the way, when it is determined in step S205 that integration is not considered for at least some of the test items that test the selected software module name (N), the software test item editing support apparatus 100 determines that the test designer Waits to select one of the unexamined test items as an integration candidate test item using the input device 101 (step S206).

  The processing until the integration candidate test item is selected will be described retroactively from the processing in step S204. In step S204, it is assumed that “software module A” is selected as an unconsidered software module name. Regarding “software module A”, there are four types of test items with “test item numbers” “1” to “4” based on the stored contents of the test item storage unit 131 of FIG. In step S205, it is checked whether integration has been considered for all four types of test items. Therefore, the test item correspondence table 132 (see FIG. 3) in which “integrated test item number” as the test item number after integration is written is read. In this case, it is assumed that integration is considered only for the test item whose “test item number” is “1” (step S205: N). In this case, the test designer performs one test item from among “2” to “4” having “test item numbers” as selection of integration candidate test items (step S206).

  As an example, it is assumed that “software module A”, which is a software module name having “2” as the “test item number” in the test item storage unit 131 illustrated in FIG. 2, is selected as the integration candidate test item (step S206: Y ). In the next step S207, the common input data range review unit 124 refers to the test item correspondence table 132 shown in FIG. 3 and the integrated test item storage unit 133 shown in FIG. Then, it is investigated whether a common input data range exists between the “input data range” in the integration candidate test item and the “input data range” of all the integration test items of the target software module. At this time, if a common input data range exists in two or more integrated test items, the integrated test item having the widest common input data range is selected as the integration destination.

  If there is a common input data range (step S208: Y), the integrated test item is updated as the content of the common “input data range”. Then, linking with the integration candidate test item is performed, and the output of the integration candidate test item is added to the output of the integration test item. At this time, the updated integrated test item is stored in the integrated test item storage unit 133 shown in FIG. 4 (step S209).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S208 that no common input data range exists (N), the integration candidate test item is registered in the test item correspondence table 132 shown in FIG. 3 as a new integration test item. To do. The integrated test item number is a number obtained by adding “1” to the largest number of existing integrated test item numbers (step S210).

  If the process of the above step S209 or step S210 is performed, it will return to step S205 and it will be discriminate | determined whether integration was examined about all the test items. The same applies hereinafter.

  The processing described above will be described more specifically with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 6A shows the case where the software module A is selected in step S204 of FIG. 5 and the test item number “1” is selected as the test item to be first examined in step S206. In this case, in step S207 after “1” of “test item number” is selected as the integration candidate test item, the selected test item is referred to with reference to the test item correspondence table 132 shown in FIG. Compare with integrated test items. At this time, the “integrated test item number” for the software module A in the test item correspondence table 132 is “1” (step S208: N in FIG. 5). For this reason, the process of step S210 of FIG. 5 is performed.

  That is, the content of “1” of “test item number” (“input data range” is 0 <x <80) is directly registered in the integrated test item storage unit 133 shown in FIG. 6C as an integrated test item. The The “integrated test item number” is a number obtained by adding “1” to the largest number of existing integrated test item numbers. At this point, since there is no existing integrated test item, the “integrated test item number” is “1” as shown in FIG.

  In the test item correspondence table 132 shown in FIG. 6B, information associating the test item storage unit 131 shown in FIG. 6D with the integrated test item storage unit 133 shown in FIG. “1” of “test item number”, “1” of “integrated test item number”, and “software module A” that is “target software module” are registered.

  FIG. 7A shows a case where the test item number “2” is selected as the test item to be examined in step S206 of FIG. 5 after the example of FIG. In this case, first, in step S207, the test item correspondence table 132 shown in FIG. 7B is referred to and compared with the integrated test item. At this time, the test item correspondence table 132 is in the state of the test item correspondence table 132 shown in FIG. Therefore, the input data range for “1” of “integrated test item number” is compared with “2” for “test item number”.

  The input data range of the integrated test item number “1” is “0 <x <80” as in the integrated test item storage unit 133 of FIG. On the other hand, the input data range in which the test item is “2” is “50 <x <100” as shown in FIG. Therefore, “50 <x <80” exists as a common input data range (step S208: Y in FIG. 5). In this case, the process of step S209 in FIG. 5 is performed, and the test item number is used as information for associating the test item storage unit 131 and the integrated test item storage unit 133 in the test item correspondence table 132 shown in FIG. “2”, “1” of the integrated test item number, and “software module A” that is the target software module are registered.

  In the integrated test item storage unit 133 shown in FIG. 5C, the “input data range” in “1” of the “integrated test item number” is updated to “50 <x <80”. Then, “execute branch process L” is added to the “output” column as “output” with the test item number “2”.

  FIG. 8A shows an example in which the test item number “3” is selected as a test item to be examined in step S206 of FIG. 5 after the example of FIG. First, in step S207, the test item correspondence table 132 is referred to and compared with the integrated test item. At this time, the test item correspondence table 132 is in the state of the test item correspondence table 132 shown in FIG. Therefore, the input data ranges for “3” and “1” of “integrated test item number” are compared.

  The input data range with the integrated test item number “1” is “50 <x <80” as in the integrated test item storage unit 133 of FIG. On the other hand, the input data range in which the test item is “3” is “45 <x <65” as shown in FIG. Therefore, “50 <x <65” exists as a common input data range (step S208: Y in FIG. 5). In this case, the process of step S209 in FIG. 5 is performed, and the test item number is used as information for associating the test item storage unit 131 and the integrated test item storage unit 133 in the test item correspondence table 132 shown in FIG. "3", the integrated test item number "1", and the target software module "software module A" are registered.

  In the integrated test item storage unit 133 shown in FIG. 5C, the “input data range” in “1” of the “integrated test item number” is updated to “50 <x <65”. Then, “execute branching process M” is added to the “output” column with “test item number” being “3”.

  FIG. 9A shows an example in which the test item number “4” is selected as the test item to be examined in step S206 of FIG. 5 after the example of FIG. First, in step S207, the test item correspondence table 132 is referred to and compared with the integrated test item. At this time, the test item correspondence table 132 is in the state of the test item correspondence table 132 shown in FIG. Therefore, the input data ranges for “4” and “1” of “integrated test item number” are compared.

  The input data range with the integrated test item number “1” is “50 <x <65” as in the integrated test item storage unit 133 in FIG. On the other hand, the input data range in which the test item is “4” is “x> 100” as shown in FIG. Therefore, there is no common input data range. For this reason, the process shown in step S210 of FIG. 5 is performed, and the integrated test item storage unit 133 shown in FIG. 9C adds the largest number of existing integrated test item numbers to “1”. The information of the test item with the item number “2” and the “test item number” “4” is stored as it is.

  In the test item correspondence table 132 shown in FIG. 5B, the test item number “4” and the integrated test item number “3” are information associating the test item storage unit 131 and the integrated test item storage unit 133. 2 ”and the target software module“ software module A ”are registered.

  After performing the process shown in step S209 or step S210 of FIG. 5, the process returns to step S206 via step S205. Then, the processing from step S206 to step S210 is performed for all the test items related to the software module selected in step S204.

  After all the test item integration studies for the unexamined software modules selected in step S204 are completed (step S205: Y), the process returns to step S204 via step S202. In this way, the processing from step S205 to step S210 is similarly performed for the remaining software modules.

  The integrated test item display unit 126 shown in FIG. 1 reads the “integrated test item” from the integrated test item storage unit 133 shown in FIG. 4 and provides it to the test designer via the output device 103. (Step S203).

  According to the software test item editing support apparatus 100 of the present embodiment described above, the input data range common to a plurality of test items is adjusted and integrated so that it can be implemented with one test item. As a result, the number of test executions can be substantially reduced, and the test man-hours can be reduced.

  <Possibility of deformation of the present invention>

  FIG. 10 shows the configuration of the software test item editing support apparatus in the first modification of the present invention. 10, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

  In the software test item editing support apparatus 100A of the first modification, the data processing apparatus 102A newly includes a test program generation unit 127. Further, the data processing apparatus 102A includes a control unit 113A having a memory 112A that stores a control program as a software module for dealing with the first modification. Of course, the test program generation unit 127 may be functionally realized by software.

  The test program generator 127 creates a test program for the new integrated test item. By using this software test item editing support apparatus 100A, the test designer can not only integrate test items but also create a test program for executing the test items after integration.

  FIG. 11 shows the configuration of the software test item editing support apparatus in the second modification of the present invention. In FIG. 11, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

  In the software test item editing support device 100B of the second modification, the data processing device 102B includes a program registration unit 128 for newly registering a program as a software module, and a program analysis unit 129 for analyzing the registered program. I have. Further, the data processing apparatus 102B includes a control unit 113B having a memory 112B that stores a control program for coping with the second modification. It is the same as the previous embodiment that all or part of the program registration unit 128 and the program analysis unit 129 may be functionally realized by hardware.

  The program analysis unit 129 analyzes the program by a known method, and extracts test items such as “test item number”, “input data range”, and “output”. A specific description of this will be omitted.

  Thus, in the software test item editing support apparatus 100B of the second modified example, the test designer can register the program using the program registration unit 128. The program analysis unit 129 directly extracts test items from the program. Other circuit portions of the data processing apparatus 102B are the same as those of the previous embodiment.

  In the embodiments and the modifications thereof, examples in which the present invention is applied to software modules have been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to general software other than software modules.

It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the software test item edit assistance apparatus by one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed an example of the test item memory | storage part concretely in this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which represented specifically an example of the test item corresponding | compatible table in this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which represented specifically an example of the memory content of the integrated test item memory | storage part in this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the whole process of the software test item edit assistance apparatus of this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of an apparatus when the software module A is selected by step S204 of FIG. 5 of this Embodiment, and test item number "1" is selected as a test item examined first by step S206. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the apparatus when the test item number “2” is selected as a test item to be examined in step S206 of FIG. 5 following the example of FIG. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the apparatus when “3” of the test item number is selected as a test item to be examined in step S206 of FIG. 5 following the example of FIG. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the apparatus when the test item number “4” is selected as a test item to be examined in step S206 of FIG. 5 following the example of FIG. It is a block diagram showing the structure of the software test item edit assistance apparatus in the 1st modification of this invention. It is a block diagram showing the structure of the software test item edit assistance apparatus in the 2nd modification of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

100, 100A, 100B Software test item editing support device 101 Input device 102, 102A, 102B Data processing device 103 Output device 104 Storage device 111 CPU
112, 112A, 112B Memory 121 Test item registration unit 122 Integrated software module candidate selection unit 123 Integrated test item candidate selection unit 124 Common input data range examination unit 125 Integration candidate test item registration unit 126 Integrated test item display unit 127 Test program generation unit 128 Program registration unit 129 Program analysis unit 131 Test item storage unit 132 Test item correspondence table 133 Integrated test item storage unit

Claims (7)

Test item storage means for storing test items to be considered for integration when testing a plurality of predetermined software among test items used for software testing,
Correspondence table storage means for previously storing corresponding software and input data ranges in the plurality of predetermined software for each test item stored in the test item storage means and storing them as a correspondence table;
The input data ranges are compared using the correspondence table for each test item stored in the test item storage means, and it is determined whether or not a common input data range exists in at least a part of the plurality of predetermined software. Comparison means by test item,
Test item editing means for editing the integration of test items by combining the test items determined to have a common input data range by the test item comparison means as one integrated test item. Feature software test item editing support device.   The software test item editing support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the software is a software module as a software component.   2. The software test item editing support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a test item correspondence table representing a relationship between a test item before editing by the test item editing means and a test item after editing. When a common input data range exists for a plurality of test items in the test item comparison means, a test item having an input data range that matches the common input data range is set as the integrated test item. The software test item editing support apparatus according to claim 1. 2. The software test item editing support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising test program generation means for creating a test program for the integrated test item. Software module registration means for registering software modules to be integrated with the test items, and test item extraction means for extracting test items from the software modules registered by the software module registration means. The software test item editing support apparatus according to claim 2 . Test item storage in which a test item to be examined for integration is stored in a storage device by a CPU that executes a predetermined control program when testing a plurality of predetermined software items among test items used for software testing A test item storage step for storing each in the means;
Correspondence table storage provided in the storage device by the CPU with corresponding software and input data ranges in the plurality of predetermined software for each test item stored in the test item storage means in the test item storage step A correspondence table storing step for storing the correspondence table in advance as a correspondence table;
For each test item stored in the test item storage means in the test item storage step, the CPU compares the input data range using the correspondence table, so that it is common to at least a part of the predetermined plurality of software. A test item comparison step for determining whether or not the input data range exists,
Test item editing step in which the CPU edits the integration of test items by combining the test items determined to have a common input data range in the test item comparison step as one integrated test item
And a software test item editing support method.

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