Abstract for PNSQC 2020 Conference

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This week I submitted a draft abstract for a technical paper for the 2020 Pacific Northwest Quality Conference.

I won't know for a few months if the abstract gets accepted. But I presented a technical paper at that conference in 2016, so I am hopeful.

ABSTRACT

Generator-Based Testing: A State by State Approach
Draft Abstract for PNSQC 2020
October 12-14, 2020
https://www.pnsqc.org/

Chris Struble

Learning a new software testing technique and applying it successfully in your career can be deeply satisfying. But what if your organization is heavily invested in a different testing technique? How do you get to a state where your colleagues adopt your technique successfully?

In Generator-based Testing (GBT), a tool generates software test cases that are executed automatically. Examples include Model-based testing (MBT), Property-based testing (PBT), and Fuzzing. Each of these techniques involves structure and randomness, with software behavior being described to the tool which uses search algorithms or other non-deterministic methods to generate test cases.

By contrast, in Example-based testing (EBT), test cases are written based on examples, then executed automatically in a repeatable way. EBT techniques such as Test-Driven Development (TDD), Behavior-Driven Development (BDD), and Acceptance Testing have been widely adopted. In my workplace, for example, we use RSpec (TDD) and Cucumber (BDD).

I will discuss cases where GBT techniques have found high profile defects that escaped other testing, and why, despite such success stories, adoption of GBT remains low.

I will present an approach to doing GBT that makes it more accessible, and easier to progress through states of Awareness, Acceptance, Adoption, and Accomplishment. This is based on my own experiences with MBT over more than 20 years.

I will demonstrate an MBT framework written in Ruby that I implemented using open source tools following this approach. I will also share lessons from my efforts to rollout this framework alongside the EBT frameworks in my workplace.


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