Combinatorial Test Case Prioritization based on Incremental Combinatorial Coverage Strength

Abstract

A combinatorial test case prioritization technique based on incremental combinatorial coverage strength is proposed in this paper. Such an efficient technique prioritizes test cases in an existing high-strength combinatorial test suite, to form an ordered test case sequence. The output prioritized combinatorial test suite could cover combinations of parametric values, where their strengths are mixed from 2 or more, quicker than non-prioritized combinatorial test suite. Theoretical analysis shows that the proposed technique consumes less cost than existing combinatorial test case prioritization technique for the same type of scenarios. Experimental results also show that compared to initial combinatorial test suites without prioritization, prioritized combinatorial test suites yield a higher speed of covering combinations of parametric values. Compared to combinatorial test suites generated by an existing incremental adaptive combinatorial testing strategy, prioritized combinatorial test suites 1) require less test cases to achieve final combinatorial coverage, and 2) yield a higher speed of covering high-strength combinations of parametric values.