Research Article Open Access

Structured Integration Test Suite Generation Process for Multi-Agent System

Zina Houhamdi and Belkacem Athamena

Abstract

Problem statement: In recent years, Agent-Oriented Software Engineering (AOSE) methodologies are proposed to develop complex distributed systems based upon the agent paradigm. The implementation for such systems has usually the form of Multi-Agent Systems (MAS). Testing of MAS is a challenging task because these systems are often programmed to be autonomous and deliberative and they operate in an open world, which requires context awareness. Approach: We introduce a novel approach for goal-oriented software integration testing. It specifies an integration testing process that complements the goal oriented methodology Tropos and strengthens the mutual relationship between goal analysis and testing. Results: The derived test suites from the system goals can be used to observe emergent properties resulting from agent interactions and make sure that a group of agents and contextual resources work correctly together. Conclusion: This approach defines a structured and comprehensive integration test suite derivation process for engineering software agents by providing a systematic way of deriving test cases from goal analysis.

Journal of Computer Science
Volume 7 No. 5, 2011, 690-697

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3844/jcssp.2011.690.697

Submitted On: 3 March 2011 Published On: 7 May 2011

How to Cite: Houhamdi, Z. & Athamena, B. (2011). Structured Integration Test Suite Generation Process for Multi-Agent System. Journal of Computer Science, 7(5), 690-697. https://doi.org/10.3844/jcssp.2011.690.697

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Keywords

  • Multi-Agent Systems (MAS)
  • integration testing
  • test case generation
  • deriving test
  • Agent-Oriented Software Engineering (AOSE)
  • Object-Oriented (OO)
  • tropos methodology
  • architectural design
  • collaborative goals
  • detailed design