Pilot project for model based testing using Conformiq Qtronic

Abstract: Software testing measures quality in software systems and the time for
testing is heavily affected by the system complexity. Even small changes to a
complex system may require large amounts of time and effort to verify
quality, so in order to enable faster testing, test automation can be
favourable to manual testing.

One technique for test automation is model based testing (MBT). MBT is a
technique based on black box testing, which uses models of a system, called
design models, at a high abstraction level to generate test cases. This
abstraction is achieved by creating the models without examining the
implementation of the system.

This thesis explores the possibility of applying MBT at a large telecom
company, using the Conformiq™ Qtronic™ testing tool, and analyses
difficulties during the process.

Due to the system documentation not being on a level of detail appropriate
for creating a design model from, the model was instead created from a
development model. The model was used to generate test cases automatically.
Using a custom “scripting backend”, Qtronic was able to render these test
cases into executable scripts.

Mismatches in both the languages and structures of the Qtronic toolset and
the telecom company's system required some makeshift solutions.

This thesis shows that it is possible to use MBT efficiently for software
testing: MBT grants more comprehensive test cases, reduced test generation
time, and requires less complexity than manual testing.