Towards Symbolic Model-Based Mutation Testing: Combining Reachability and Refinement Checking

TL;DR

This paper introduces a symbolic approach for model-based mutation testing of reactive systems, using constraint solving to improve efficiency in conformance checking between original and mutated models.

Contribution

It presents a novel symbolic conformance checking method for action systems that handles nondeterminism and refines traditional explicit techniques.

Findings

Potential to outperform explicit conformance checkers

Handles nondeterminism in models

Uses constraint solving for reachability and refinement

Abstract

Model-based mutation testing uses altered test models to derive test cases that are able to reveal whether a modelled fault has been implemented. This requires conformance checking between the original and the mutated model. This paper presents an approach for symbolic conformance checking of action systems, which are well-suited to specify reactive systems. We also consider nondeterminism in our models. Hence, we do not check for equivalence, but for refinement. We encode the transition relation as well as the conformance relation as a constraint satisfaction problem and use a constraint solver in our reachability and refinement checking algorithms. Explicit conformance checking techniques often face state space explosion. First experimental evaluations show that our approach has potential to outperform explicit conformance checkers.