Predicting class testability using object-oriented metrics

Abstract

C e n t r u m v o o r W i s k u n d e e n I n f o r m a t i c aPredicting Class Testability Using Object-Oriented Metrics ABSTRACT In this paper we investigate factors of the testability of object-oriented software systems. The starting point is given by a study of the literature to obtain both an initial model of testability and existing OO metrics related to testability. Subsequently, these metrics are evaluated by means of two case studies of large Java systems for which JUnit test cases exist. The goal of this paper is to define and evaluate a set of metrics that can be used to assess the testability of the classes of a Java system. ACM Computing Classification

Empirical Analysis of Object-Oriented Design Metrics for Predicting Unit Testing Effort of Classes

“…Bruntink et al [7,17] investigate factors of testability of OO software systems. Testability is investigated from the perspective of unit testing.…”

“…Zhao [6] states that testability is an elusive concept, and it is difficult to get a clear view on all the potential factors that can affect it. Dealing with software testability raises several questions such as [7,8]: Why is one class easier to test than another? What makes a class hard to test?…”

“…Having quantitative data on the testability of a software can, in fact, be used to guide the decision-making of software development managers seeking to produce high-quality software. Particularly, it can help software managers, developers and testers to [7,8]: plan and monitor testing activities, determine the critical parts of the code on which they have to focus to ensure software quality, and in some cases use this data to review the code. One effective way to deal with this important issue is to develop prediction models based on metrics that can be used to identify critical parts of software requiring a (relative) high testing effort.…”

“…ing, cohesion and inheritance) were already used in recent years to assess (predict) testability of OO software systems [7,8,[14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Software testability has been addressed from different point of views.…”

“…We performed an empirical analysis using data collected from three open source Java software systems for which JUnit test cases exist. To capture the testing effort of classes, we used the suite of test case metrics introduced by Bruntink et al [7,17] to quantify the corresponding JUnit test cases. These metrics were used, in fact, to classify the classes (in terms of required testing effort) in two categories: high and low.…”