Papers by Fernanda Granda
Studies in computational intelligence, 2024
2022 Third International Conference on Information Systems and Software Technologies (ICI2ST)
Complexity in Information Systems Development, 2017
Although mutation testing is a well-known technique for assessing the quality of tests, there is ... more Although mutation testing is a well-known technique for assessing the quality of tests, there is not a lot of support available for model-level mutation analysis. It is also considered to be expensive due to: (i) the large number of mutants generated; ii) the time-consuming activity of determining equivalent mutants; and (iii) the mutant execution time. It should also be remembered that real software artefacts of appropriate size including real faults are hard to find and prepare appropriately. In this paper we propose a mutation tool to generate valid First Order Mutants (FOM) for Conceptual Schemas (CS) based on UML Class Diagrams and evaluate its effectiveness and efficiency in generating valid and non-equivalent mutants. Our main findings were: 1) FOM mutation operators can be automated to avoiding non-valid mutants (49.1%). 2) Fewer equivalent mutants were generated (7.2%) and 74.3% were reduced by analysing the CS static structure in six subject CSs.
International Conference on Information Systems, 2016
Although mutation testing is a well-known technique for assessing the quality of tests, there is ... more Although mutation testing is a well-known technique for assessing the quality of tests, there is not a lot of support available for model-level mutation analysis. It is also considered to be expensive due to: (i) the large number of mutants generated; ii) the time-consuming activity of determining equivalent mutants; and (iii) the mutant execution time. It should also be remembered that real software artefacts of appropriate size including real faults are hard to find and prepare appropriately. In this paper we propose a mutation tool to generate valid First Order Mutants (FOM) for Conceptual Schemas (CS) based on UML Class Diagrams and evaluate its effectiveness and efficiency in generating valid and non-equivalent mutants. Our main findings were: 1) FOM mutation operators can be automated to avoiding non-valid mutants (49.1%). 2) Fewer equivalent mutants were generated (7.2%) and 74.3% were reduced by analysing the CS static structure in six subject CSs.
2022 XXVIII International Conference on Information, Communication and Automation Technologies (ICAT)
Proceedings of the 5th International Workshop on Requirements Engineering and Testing, 2018
Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Model-Driven Engineering and Software Development, 2021
Mutation Testing is a well-established technique for assessing the quality of test cases by check... more Mutation Testing is a well-established technique for assessing the quality of test cases by checking how well they detect faults injected into a software artefact (mutant). Using this technique, the most critical activity is the adequate design of mutation operators so that they reflect typical defects of the artefact under test. This paper presents the design of a set of mutation operators for Conceptual Schemas (CS) based on UML Class Diagrams (CD). In this paper, the operators are defined in accordance with an existing defects classification for UML CS and relevant elements identified from the UML-CD meta-model. The operators are subsequently used to generate first order mutants for a CS under test. Finally, in order to analyse the usefulness of the mutation operators, we measure some basic characteristics of mutation operators with three different CSs under test.
Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Evaluation of Novel Approaches to Software Engineering, 2021
Although mutation testing is a well-known technique for assessing the quality of tests, there is ... more Although mutation testing is a well-known technique for assessing the quality of tests, there is not a lot of support available for model-level mutation analysis. It is also considered to be expensive due to: (i) the large number of mutants generated; (ii) the time-consuming activity of determining equivalent mutants; and (iii) the mutant execution time. It should also be remembered that real software artefacts of appropriate size including real faults are hard to find and prepare appropriately. In this paper we propose a mutation tool to generate valid First Order Mutants (FOM) for Conceptual Schemas (CS) based on UML Class Diagrams and evaluate its effectiveness and efficiency in generating valid and non-equivalent mutants. Our main findings were: (1) FOM mutation operators can be automated to avoiding non-valid mutants (49.1%). (2) Fewer equivalent mutants were generated (7.2%) and 74.3% were reduced by analysing the CS static structure in six subject CSs.
[Context] Model transformations are key elements of Model-driven Engineering. They allow querying... more [Context] Model transformations are key elements of Model-driven Engineering. They allow querying, synthesizing and transforming models into other models or code. [Problem] However, as with other software development artefacts, they are not free from anomalies and thus require both verification and validation techniques. [Objective] The objective of this study is to define a semi-automated framework for inspecting the correctness (notions of type and correspondence) of model transformations, by means of detecting and locating anomalies in the transformation rules. [Method] In order to compare the correctness of source and target models, we assume that operational behaviour can be compared by metrics applied on projections from the source model to the target (with deliberate loss of information), which should be preserved by the transformation. [Results] We demonstrate the applicability of our framework for inspecting the correctness of a model-to-model transformation required in a model-driven testing approach. The main result of the study highlights the advantages of metrics for detecting any missing, incorrect or unnecessary transformation rules that have an impact on the correctness of the model transformations. From the research perspective, the feedback produced by the implemented tool will be useful for future research.
Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Evaluation and Assessment in Software Engineering - EASE'17, 2017
In Model-Driven Development, the main artefacts are conceptual schemas, and efforts are focused o... more In Model-Driven Development, the main artefacts are conceptual schemas, and efforts are focused on their creation, testing and evolution at different levels of abstraction through transformations. If a conceptual schema has defects, these are passed on to the following stages, including coding. Therefore, techniques for improving the quality of conceptual schemas must be implemented to assure the correct generation of final software products. One of the challenges in Model-Driven Development is being able to identify defects early on, at the level of conceptual schemas, as this would help reduce development costs and improve software quality. In this research proposal we suggest an approach for testing-based conceptual schema validation in order to improve quality.
2014 IEEE 4th International Workshop on Empirical Requirements Engineering (EmpiRE), 2014
Currently, in a Model-Driven Engineering environment, it is a difficult and challenging task to f... more Currently, in a Model-Driven Engineering environment, it is a difficult and challenging task to fully automate model-driven testing because this demands complete and unambiguous models as input. Although some approaches have been developed to generate test cases from models, they require rigorous assessment of the completeness of the derivation rules. This paper proposes the plan and design of a controlled experiment that analyses a test case generation strategy for the purpose of evaluating its completeness from the viewpoint of those testers who will use a Communication Analysis-based requirements model. We will compare the abstract test cases obtained by applying (i) manual derivation without derivation rules with (ii) manual derivation with transformation rules; and both these strategies against a case of automated generation using transformation rules.
2014 IEEE 1st International Workshop on Requirements Engineering and Testing (RET), 2014
In a testing process, the design, selection, creation and execution of test cases is a very time-... more In a testing process, the design, selection, creation and execution of test cases is a very time-consuming and error-prone task when done manually, since suitable and effective test cases must be obtained from the requirements. This paper presents a model-driven testing approach for conceptual schemas that automatically generates a set of abstract test cases, from requirements models. In this way, tests and requirements are linked together to find defects as soon as possible, which can considerably reduce the risk of defects and project reworking. The authors propose a generation strategy which consists of: two metamodels, a set of transformations rules which are used to generate a Test Model, and the Abstract Test Cases from an existing approach to communication-oriented Requirements Engineering; and an algorithm based on Breadth-First Search. A practical application of our approach is included.
The purpose of this live study is to investigate the impact of emotional states on the efficiency... more The purpose of this live study is to investigate the impact of emotional states on the efficiency of correcting defects within a Conceptual Model verification context. We plan to use the CoSTest tool for verifying defects and measure the experimented emotions during the testing tasks through I-PANAS-SF and SUDS instruments. Furthermore, the design, overview and potential threats of this experiment are presented.
The Unified Modelling Language (UML) is widely used for modelling software systems and its integr... more The Unified Modelling Language (UML) is widely used for modelling software systems and its integration with executable languages, such as the Action Language for Foundational UML (ALF), provides a bridge between the graphical specification techniques used by mainstream software engineers and the precise analysis and validation techniques essential for the model-driven development of information systems. As far as we know, the idea of transforming Conceptual Schemas (CS) based on UML Class Diagrams into ALF to execute systematic ALF-based test cases against these CSs and to report defects by checking logs has not been explored to date. In this paper, we use ALF to create a testing environment to validate requirements and verify some system properties at the CS level. We also report on some of the implementation details and design decisions of our proof-of-concept tool, as well as its limitations and possible use scenarios.
When the Ecuadorian government put the country into quarantine as a preventive measure against th... more When the Ecuadorian government put the country into quarantine as a preventive measure against the Covid-19 pandemic the country's schools and colleges had been working normally up to March 2020. On March 13th, the University of Cuenca decided to suspend face-to-face classes and changed the system to virtual online teaching. Although the teachers and students changed the teaching-learning method from face-to-face to virtual, they were not prepared to continue their education in this new educational system, in which each student's family had different mandatory elements (e.g., an Internet connection, computer, meeting solution). However, they continued the classes through meeting solutions to continue the school year through virtual classes but without any criteria to select the most suitable meeting tool. This paper evaluates two of the most commonly used meeting solutions for virtual university classes: Webex and Zoom. We used User Experience Questionnaire and Microsoft Rea...
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Papers by Fernanda Granda