Evaluating a model-based software testing approach in an industrial context: A replicated study

Software organizations are continuously looking for techniques to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their testing processes. Model-based testing (MBT) is an approach that automates the design and generation of test cases based on a model that represents the system under test. MBT can reduce the cost of software testing and improve the systems quality. However, the introduction of the MBT approach could be complex for software development teams in the industry. This paper replicates a previous study that evaluated the use of MBT by software engineers in an industrial context. The goal of this replication is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptance of the MBT approach from the perspective of quality engineers testing a software application in the industry. We conducted a case study with four quality assurance engineers who modeled one module of the system under test, and then generated and executed a set of test cases using an MBT tool. Participants were able to use MBT to model and test the software system and provided several insights about the challenges and opportunities of using this approach.