Metamorphic Testing: A New Approach for Generating Next Test Cases

TL;DR

This paper introduces metamorphic testing, a novel approach that generates new test cases from existing ones to detect hidden software errors, especially when test oracles are unavailable or errors persist after initial testing.

Contribution

It proposes a new test case generation technique based on metamorphic relations that enhances error detection in software testing, including in production and without test oracles.

Findings

Improves detection of undetected software errors.

Effective in testing without test oracles.

Augments existing test selection strategies.

Abstract

In software testing, a set of test cases is constructed according to some predefined selection criteria. The software is then examined against these test cases. Three interesting observations have been made on the current artifacts of software testing. Firstly, an error-revealing test case is considered useful while a successful test case which does not reveal software errors is usually not further investigated. Whether these successful test cases still contain useful information for revealing software errors has not been properly studied. Secondly, no matter how extensive the testing has been conducted in the development phase, errors may still exist in the software [5]. These errors, if left undetected, may eventually cause damage to the production system. The study of techniques for uncovering software errors in the production phase is seldom addressed in the literature. Thirdly, as indicated by Weyuker in [6], the availability of test oracles is pragmatically unattainable in most situations. However, the availability of test oracles is generally assumed in conventional software testing techniques. In this paper, we propose a novel test case selection technique that derives new test cases from the successful ones. The selection aims at revealing software errors that are possibly left undetected in successful test cases which may be generated using some existing strategies. As such, the proposed technique augments the effectiveness of existing test selection strategies. The technique also helps uncover software errors in the production phase and can be used in the absence of test oracles.