Model-driven functional test engineering for service centric systems

Functional testing of service centric systems poses new challenges to traditional test design approaches. As a mean for achieving network and service convergence, such systems integrate various different notations and technologies into a common framework. Assuming that test artifacts targeting each of the technologies involved exist, designing functional tests at the service level, by integrating existing test artifacts is still a very complex engineering task. We propose to address those challenges with a model-driven test engineering approach based on test patterns. The approach allows tests to be designed at a higher level of abstraction as abstract test models, using a test specific, but platform independent modeling notation called UTML(Unified Test Modeling Language). We argue that our approach can be helpful in speeding up the production of new test cases through reuse of existing test artifacts and test infrastructure, as well as automated generation of executable test scripts from the abstract test models.