Improving Model Quality by Validating Constraints with Model Unit Tests

Abstract

A central part of modern development methods is the use of tests. A well-defined test suite is usually the basis for code refactoring because changes to the system under test can be easily validated against the test suite. In model-based development tests can be derived from the model but possibilities to test the originally specified model and therefore to improve the quality of model refactorings are rare. We propose a method for defining model unit tests which allows a developer to define test suites similar to the well-known xUnit testing frameworks. This gives the developer the possibility to easily check and assess model changes against valid and invalid scenarios.

Requirements-Driven Testing of Domain-Specific Core Language Models Using Scenarios

“…Model-constraint expressions are typically organized according to the built-in constructs of the specification languages (e.g., via operations, invariants, and query blocks). While the need for structuring of model constraints, for example, to match a certain testing level, has been acknowledged (see [27]), existing approaches do not consider the structure of non-executable requirements specifications, such as semi-structured textual or diagrammatic scenario descriptions (see, e.g., [10]). Such abstraction mismatches complicate the co-maintenance of the requirements description and the corresponding model constraints.…”