CS&E Colloquium: On Software Test Coverage: Challenges and Opportunities

The computer science colloquium takes place on Mondays from 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. This week's speaker, Mats Heimdahl (UMN), will be giving a talk titled "On Software Test Coverage: Challenges and Opportunities". 

Abstract

Abstract: For decades, researchers have explored the topic of software testing. Early work in this area covered the formal foundations of program testing. By exploring the foundations of testing largely separate from any specific method of testing, these researchers provided a general discussion of the testing process, including the goals, the underlying problems, and the limitations of testing. Unfortunately, much of current testing research has lost track of the goal of testing (finding consequential faults) and has focused on furthering specific aspects of the testing problem without considering the impact on the overall testing process. 

In this talk I will discuss the crucial (and often overlooked) interrelationship between desired program behavior, the program under test, the test data used in its testing, and the test oracle determining whether a test passes.  I will, with examples from our empirical work, discuss the problem, introduce novel coverage criteria (Observable Modified Condition and Decision Coverage and Unique First Cause Coverage), and share some ideas on how one might leverage the interrelationship between requirements, programs, test data, and test oracles to assist with validation and verification.

Biography

Mats Heimdahl is a Professor of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Minnesota. He served as department head for ten years (2015-2025). He earned an M.S. in Computer Science and Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Sweden and a Ph.D. in Information and Computer Science from the University of California at Irvine. 

His research interests are in software engineering, safety critical systems, software safety, software testing, requirements engineering, formal specification languages, and verification. 

He is the recipient of the NSF CAREER award, a McKnight Land-Grant Professorship, the McKnight Presidential Fellow award, and the awards for Outstanding Contributions to Post-Baccalaureate, Graduate, and Professional Education at the University of Minnesota.