Automatically learning usage behavior and generating event sequences for black-box testing of reactive systems

Abstract

We propose a novel technique based on recurrent artificial neural networks to generate test cases for black-box testing of reactive systems. We combine functional testing inputs that are automatically generated from a model together with manually-applied test cases for robustness testing. We use this combination to train a long short-term memory (LSTM) network. As a result, the network learns an implicit representation of the usage behavior that is liable to failures. We use this network to generate new event sequences as test cases. We applied our approach in the context of an industrial case study for the black-box testing of a digital TV system. LSTM-generated test cases were able to reveal several faults, including critical ones, that were not detected with existing automated or manual testing activities. Our approach is complementary to model-based and exploratory testing, and the combined approach outperforms random testing in terms of both fault coverage and execution time.