Test set size minimization and fault detection effectiveness: a case study in a space application

An important question in software testing is whether it is reasonable to apply coverage based criteria as a filter to reduce the size of a test set. An empirical study was conducted using a test set minimization technique to explore the effect of reducing the size of a test set, while keeping block coverage constant, on the fault detection strength of the resulting minimized test set. Two types of test sets were examined. For those with respect to a fixed size, no test case screening was conducted during the generation, whereas for those with respect to a fixed coverage, each subsequent test case had to improve the overall coverage in order to be included. The study reveals that no matter how a test set is generated (with or without any test case screening) block minimized test sets have a size/effectiveness advantage, in terms of a significant reduction in test set size but with almost the same fault detection effectiveness, over the original non-minimized test sets