Using Z specifications in category partition testing

The application of specification-based test methods to informal functional specifications requires considerable analysis on the part of the test engineer. The authors hypothesize that a large portion of this analysis is already present in formal functional specifications. They examine this hypothesis by analyzing a particular variety of formal specifications, namely Z specifications, in the context of a general specification-based testing method known as category partition testing. General guidelines are presented to derive category partition test specifications from Z functional specifications. The relationship between a Z specification and steps in the category partition method is broadly defined and illustrated with an example.<>