Test Case Migration: A Reference Process Model and its Instantiation in an Industrial Context

In the context of software migration, existing test cases represent important assets which can be reused for migration validation. Doing so, one can save time as well as costs by avoiding design of new test cases. However, migration of test cases is a quite challenging task due to the size of the test case set and often missing conformity in the structure of the test cases. Moreover, the test cases are implemented in the same or a compatible technology as the software system they are testing, so they have to follow somehow the migration of the system. To overcome this complex task, we propose a reference process model which supports systematic test case migration during software migration projects. Our reference process model for test case migration encompasses the phases reverse engineering, restructuring, and forward engineering. An instantiation of our reference process model is presented based on an industrial case study.