Test generation using event sequence graphs

An Event Sequence Graph (ESG) is a simple albeit powerful formalism for capturing the behavior of a variety of interactive systems that include real-time, embedded systems, and graphical user interfaces. A collection of ESGs is proposed as a model of an interactive system. This collection is used for the generation of tests to check for the correctness of system behavior in the presence of expected and unexpected input event sequences. The proposed test generation algorithm is customizable in the sense that it allows a tester to generate test sequences based on an evaluation of their cost of execution and the benefit derived. Two case studies, an empirical and an analytical, are reported. The empirical study is an assessment of the fault detection effectiveness of the approach. The analytical study is to demonstrate the power of ESGs in modeling and risk analysis. University of Paderborn, Institute for Electrical Engineering and Information Technology Software Engineering F. Belli, N. Nissanke, Ch. Budnik, Aditya Mathur, TR 2005/6, „Test Generation Using ESGs“ Version 1.1 (September 2005) Page 2 of 51