Using MC/DC as a black-box testing technique

Abstract

In the early 1990s, the Modified Condition/Decision Coverage (MC/DC) criterion was suggested as a structural white-box testing approach, but it can also be used for black-box specification-based testing. Practical application of MC/DC for specification-based testing has its own unique features and sometimes is quite different from code-based applications. However, MC/DC as a black-box approach has not been studied sufficiently, and thus, the application of MC/DC for specifications coverage was the main research problem considered in this paper. The goal of this study was to analyze MC/DC as a black-box technique, investigate factors that distinguish the black- and white-box applications of this approach, and provide proper definitions and rules to evaluate the MC/DC level during black-box testing.