Impact-Driven Regression Test Selection for Mainframe Business Systems [chapter]

Abhishek Dharmapurikar, Benjamin J. R. Wierwille, Jayashree Ramanthan, Rajiv Ramnath
2013 Communications in Computer and Information Science  
Software testing is particularly expensive in the case of legacy business systems such as mainframes. These systems are critical to many large enterprises, yet they are perpetually in maintenance where even small changes to the system usually lead to an end-to-end regression test. Due to the age of legacy systems there is a lack of knowledge of component inter-dependence resulting in comprehensive system tests that have to be conducted in production environments. This is called the "retest all"
more » ... approach which is done to ensure confidence in the functioning of the system. But this approach is impractical primarily due to a) resource needs (including man-hours, test cycle time and production infrastructure contention), and b) user stories generated within the agile system that require changes to the system at an ever-faster pace. This research is aimed at reducing the required regression testing and the costs associated with the system and its assets (such as the database schemas, files (datasets), transactions, screens, source programs and copybooks). The improvements are achieved by identifying only those tests needed by assets changes and others that are 'impacted'. The impact analysis leverages the availability of modern static code analysis tools like Rational Asset Analyzer and dedicated test environments for mainframes. We show that by using impact analysis on a real-world mainframe application the test savings maybe much greater than 34%. iii Dedication This document is dedicated to my family and friends. iv
doi:10.1007/978-3-642-54092-9_15 fatcat:d76xglhparhgjek43j5yktl6du