Automatic selection of test execution plans from a video conferencing system product line

Abstract

The Cisco Video Conferencing Systems (VCS) Product Line is composed of many distinct products that can be configured in many different ways. The validation of this product line is currently performed manually during test plan design and test executions' scheduling. For example, the testing of a specific VCS product leads to the manual selection of a set of test cases to be executed and scheduled, depending on the functionalities that are available on the product. In this paper, we develop an alternative approach where the variability of the VCS Product Line is captured by a feature model, while the variability within the set of test cases is captured by a component family model. Using the well-known pure::variants tool approach that establishes links between those two models through restrictions, we can obtain relevant test cases automatically for the testing of a new VCS product. The novelty in this paper lies in the design of a large component family model that organizes a complex test cases structure. We envision a large gain in terms of man-power when a new product is issued and needs to be tested before being marketed.