Using Feature Model to Support Model-Based Testing of Product Lines: An Industrial Case Study

In the context of Model-Based Testing (MBT) of product lines, effort required to develop models can be significantly reduced by applying systematic product line modeling and configuration methodologies. In our previous work, we developed such a methodology to capture variability in configurable UML state machines and aspect state machines. For each product, these state machines are to be configured for generating executable test cases. In this paper, we extended this methodology using Feature Model for Testing (FM_T) and Component Family Model for Behaviors (CFM_B). FM_T captures variable testing functionalities of a product line, whereas CFM_B provides an abstraction layer on top of the configurable state machines. With our current methodology, a test engineer doesn't need to acquire expertise on behavioral modeling and can simply configure models for a product by selecting features in FM_T and configuring provided attributes in CFM_B. The configured models are then given input to our model-based testing tool, TRansformation-based tool for Uml-baSed Testing (TRUST) for executable test case generation. We applied our extended methodology to a product line of video conferencing system developed by Cisco Systems, Norway. Results show that the methodology significantly reduces the complexity of configuration, thereby significantly reducing required effort and cost (e.g., in terms of training). In addition, it does not require test engineers to have expertise in UML modeling, aspect-oriented modeling, and OCL specification and therefore eases the adoption of MBT in industry.