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Automated Test Case Generation from Highly Reliable System Requirements Models, Phase II

Completed

Description

Software testing is a complex and expensive phase of the software development cycle. Effective software testing is especially important in mission-critical software, where erroneous behavior poses a risk to safety or mission success. Automated test case generation can make testing more efficient and effective, saving resources and reducing risk. Under Phase 1, Safeware Engineering Corporation successfully developed the algorithms necessary to streamline software testing by automatically generating test cases directly from SpecTRM-RL models. SpecTRM-RL (Specification Tools and Requirements Methodology -- Requirements Language) is a requirements language that was designed to be highly readable, allowing even non-specialists to understand them, but is also completely formal. Test cases generated from the black-box models written in SpecTRM-RL will focus on the intended behavior of the system. The test case generation tool will be designed to allow the user to choose between a smaller set of test cases, allowing for more rapid error identification, and a larger set providing more comprehensive coverage. The phase II effort will implement these algorithms, adding test-case generation to SpecTRM, the tool suite which allows for editing, analysis and execution of SpecTRM-RL models. The new test case generation tools will be tested on the Max Launch Abort System.

Details

Technology areaSoftware, Modeling, Simulation, and Information Processing > Software Development, Engineering, and Integrity > V&V of Software systems
ProgramSmall Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer (SBIR/STTR)
Lead organizationAmes Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Start date2009-11-13
End date2011-10-12

How to get involved

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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