Software Validation Techniques Research Articles

Integrating Testing into Software Engineering Courses Supported by a Collaborative Learning Environment

As software becomes more ubiquitous and complex, the cost of software bugs continues to grow at a staggering rate. To remedy this situation, there needs to be major improvement in the knowledge and application of software validation techniques. Although there are several software validation techniques, software testing continues to be one of the most widely used in industry. The high demand for software engineers in the next decade has resulted in more software engineering (SE) courses being offered in academic institutions. However, due to the number of topics to be covered in SE courses, little or no attention is given to software testing, resulting in students entering industry with little or no testing experience. We propose a minimally disruptive approach of integrating software testing into SE courses by providing students access to a collaborative learning environment containing learning materials on testing techniques and testing tools. In this article, we describe the learning environment and the studies conducted to measure the benefits accrued by students using the learning environment in the SE courses.

Validating expert systems

D.E. O'Leary (1987) noted the inappropriate nature of traditional software validation techniques for expert system validation and proposed a research methods approach. R.M. O'Keefe et al. (1987) established validation as an important concern in expert system research and development and presented general descriptive methodologies for qualitative and quantitative methods of formal validation. A specific formal paradigm for prototype validation that is consistent with O'Leary's as well as O'Keefe's general guidelines for expert system development is presented. The paradigm explicitly incorporates validation into the prototype development life cycle under constrained resources, primarily time and money. The validation approach is demonstrated and evaluated relative to an expert system prototype named Signal Control at Isolated Intersections. The paradigm's strengths and weaknesses as well as its potential use with other types of expert system development projects are examined. >

Applicability of Software Validation Techniques to Scientific Programs

Error analysis involves the examination of a collection of programs whose errors are known. Each error is analyzed and validation techniques which would discover the error are identified. The errors that were present in version five of a package of Fortran scientific subroutines and then later corrected in version six were analyzed. An integrated collection of static and dynamic analysis methods would have discovered the errors in version five before its release. An integrated approach to validation and the effectiveness of individual methods are discussed.

A system for reliable engineering software

Much of the software developed to support engineering design calculations is produced by persons whose primary job skill is not that of computer scientist. Software validation techniques suitable for use by these engineer-programmers have been under investigation by the Navy as part of a project designed to increase the reliability, usability, and portability of engineering design software. The results of the project are summarized and a software validation tool is described.