Value-Based Coverage Measurement in Requirements-Based Testing: Lessons Learned from an Approach Implemented in the TOSCA Testsuite

Abstract

Testing is one of the most widely practiced quality assurance measures and also one of the most resource-intensive activities in software development. Still, however, most of the available methods, techniques and tools for software testing are value-neutral and do not realize the potential value contribution of testing. In this paper we present an approach for value-based coverage measurement that can be used to align the testing effort with the achievable value associated with requirements and functional units. It has been implemented as part of a commercial test tool and was successfully applied in real-world projects. The results demonstrated its ability to adequately capture the distribution of the business value and risks involved in different requirements. The paper concludes with sharing important lessons learned from developing value-based coverage measurement in the practical setting of commercial tool development and real-world test projects.