Eliminating effects of Flakiness in Embedded Software Testing: An industrial case study
2020 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE credits
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
Background. Unstable and unpredictable tests, herein referred to as flaky tests, pose a serious challenge to systems in the production environment. If a device is not tested thoroughly, it will be sent back for retesting from the production centers, which is an expensive affair. Removing flaky tests involves detecting the flaky tests, finding the causes of flakiness and finally the elimination of flakiness. The existing literature provides information on causes and elimination techniques of flakiness for software systems. All of these are studied thoroughly, and support is taken from interviews to understand they are applicable in the context of embedded systems. Objectives. The primary objective is to identify causes of flakiness in a device under test and also techniques for eliminating flakiness. Methods. In this paper, we applied a literature review to find the current state-of-art of flakiness. A case study is selected to address the objectives of the study. Interviews and observations carried out to collect data. Data analysis performed using a directed content analysis method. Results. Observations resulted in eliminating 4 causes of flakiness in embedded systems. Interview results in finding 4 elimination techniques which were not found in the literature. Conclusions. Causes and Elimination techniques for the domain of embedded systems are identified. Knowledge translation between the domains was carried out effectively.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2020. , p. 69
Keywords [en]
Flaky tests, Embedded systems, Software Testing, Continuous Integration
National Category
Software Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:bth-19391OAI: oai:DiVA.org:bth-19391DiVA, id: diva2:1425725
External cooperation
Axis Communications
Subject / course
PA2534 Master's Thesis (120 credits) in Software Engineering
Educational program
PAADA Master Qualification Plan in Software Engineering 120,0 hp
Presentation
2020-01-28, J1610, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona, Sweden SE–371 79, 14:00 (English)
Supervisors
Examiners
2020-04-302020-04-222020-04-30Bibliographically approved