Serge Demeyer | Publications | E-mail Feedback
Last updated on Thursday, November 16, 2023
@inproceedings{Vercammen2023icstw,
author = {Vercacmmen, Sten and Borg, Markus and Demeyer, Serge},
booktitle = {Proceedings {ICSTW} 2023 (IEEE International
Conference on Software Testing, Verification and
Validation Workshops)},
pages = {334 -- 343},
title = {Validation of Mutation Testing in the Safety Critical
Industry through a Pilot Study},
year = {2023},
abstract = {Mutation testing is the state-of-the-art technique to
evaluate the fault-detection capabilities of a test
suite, but its adoption has been limited. In this
paper, we aim to investigate where mutation testing
fits within the existing test strategies, whether the
mutation analysis can be done in a timely manner, and
which pain points remain to be tackled for industrial
integration. For this, we performed open format
interviews with two companies developing safety
critical software. Our first case had no experience
with mutation testing, allowing us to analyse and aid
them with the setup, integration, and the mutation
analysis. Our second case has 5 years of experience
with mutation testing, providing us with a mature
view on mutation testing in practice. Our study found
that mutation testing can be combined with continuous
integration and offload the work of the human
reviewer by providing an initial code-quality review.
Equivalent mutants appear to be a less prevalent
obstacle, although flaky mutants are a concern that
needs to be addressed. Overall, the industrial
perception of mutation testing is evolving as more
organisations recognise the potential benefits of the
technique and work to address its limitations and
challenges.},
annote = {workshoppaper},
doi = {10.1109/ICSTW58534.2023.00064},
}