Towards run-time testing of dynamic adaptive systems

Abstract

It is challenging to design, develop, and validate a dynamically adaptive system (DAS) that satisfies requirements, particularly when requirements can change at run time. Testing at design time can help verify and validate that a DAS satisfies its specified requirements and constraints. While offline tests may demonstrate that a DAS is capable of satisfying its requirements before deployment, a DAS may encounter unanticipated system and environmental conditions that can prevent it from achieving its objectives. In working towards a requirements-aware DAS, this paper proposes run-time monitoring and adaptation of tests as another technique for evaluating whether a DAS satisfies, or is even capable of satisfying, its requirements given its current execution context. To this end, this paper motivates the need and identifies challenges for adaptively testing a DAS at run time, as well as suggests possible methods for leveraging offline testing techniques for verifying run-time behavior.