System test methodology

Abstract

The Naval Postgraduate School has conducted a research project during the period 30 June 1974 to 30 June 1975, entitled System Test Methodology under the sponsorship of the Naval Air Development Center. A progress report was submitted on 15 January 1975. The purpose of this project was to develop a methodology and tools for conducting system tests of avionics or other complex hardware/software systems. Two areas which received major emphasis were prototype testing and maintenance testing. A methodology for conducting prototype tests was developed. In addition, a simulation model was prepared for aiding the designer and tester in identifying and diagnosing faults which may occur during prototype testing. A maintenance testing methodology, which involves the use of tests to partition faults into subsets, was developed for identifying faults. In addition to the above areas, research was undertaken to develop models for investigating the relationship between error detection capability and program structure in computer software, using simulation and analytic approaches. The models would be employed during software design for identifying program structures with poor error characteristics and during test planning for the purpose of allocating test resources in accordance with error characteristics. In addition to the progress and final reports, computer program source decks and operating instructions for the system (prototype) test simulation and the software error detection (simulation and analytic) models have been provided to NADC. Lastly, three national conference proceedings publications and presentations and tow Master of Science in Computer Science theses have resulted from this research project. (Author)