Choosing a Method of Test Cases Prioritizing for Regression Testing of a Software System

The purpose of research is to conduct a comparative analysis of several methods for prioritizing test suites described in the literature to select the most promising method for regression testing of software systems.

Methods. Regression testing being performed to check a previously tested software product after the next modification to eliminate detected defects is associated with a significant investment of time and money. Methods for prioritizing test cases are aimed at determining the optimal (from the point of view of early detection of defects) and efficient (from the point of view of the number of executed test cases) order of their execution. Several such methods are known, and the software development team faces the problem of choosing the most effective one. In this paper, the following prioritization methods are considered: a method based on the analysis of the similarity of texts of software requirements, a method based on a joint analysis of risk factors and the importance of requirements, a method based on identifying a critical component in the source code, a method based on the use of additional coverage of functions and a method based on the analysis of the system of artifacts of the life cycle of software product development.

Results. Based on a comparative analysis of the considered prioritization methods, it was concluded that among the considered alternatives, the method based on the analysis of the artifact system of the software product development life cycle seems to be the most effective.

Conclusion. The prioritization method based on the analysis of the system of artifacts of the life cycle of software product development is most fully consistent with the basic ones for modern software engineering methodology. principles of systems analysis and can be used to solve the problems of ensuring the quality of programs.

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