A use case driven validation framework and case study.

Abstract

In this thesis we propose a use case driven strategy for validating software systems which are built using an incremental development process. We use the Real-time Object Oriented Modeling (ROOM) development process as an example. Our technique supports validation activities whereby a partially built system is executed and tested against some desired behaviour derived from the requirements, before further refinement is made. To represent the desired behaviour, we propose a new notation called Use Case Trees (UCT), which is derived from the Tree and Tabular Combined Notation (TTCN). In UCT several scenarios can be compacted into a single use case. Each scenario can be represented by a Message Sequence Chart (MSC). We built a tool to automatically generate selected MSCs from a UCT. The generated MSCs are used to drive the system, thus checking whether its behaviour conforms to the requirements. This validation strategy is cost-efficient as it helps to catch errors at an early stage of system development.