Chapter 3: Control Flow Testing
This chapter introduces a basic graph, control flow. I found the tax documents for this exercise.
I read this in two parts. The first part, after the standard definitions section, focused on the relationships of a control-flow model, how they vary, and how to draw them. I liked the use of the truth table to show the relationships in a compound predicate.By the end of this section, I knew (remembered might be a better term) how to use the tactics of this technique. I could differentiate when the nodes would be serial instructions and when they would be selection as an if or case statement..
Dr. Beizer presented a step-by-step instruction set for building and using the control-flow model for testing. The model development seemed to be as if I were modeling a script or coded program. but showed what happened in the methods as well. The steps within the tax instructions gave that feel. The space of each instruction gave us a memory register to store the result. Each instruction did one thing… well, mostly. While I didn’t like the idea of reviewing 18 year old tax instructions, it worked well with this lesson.
The coverage, which is beginning to be developed in the previous chapter, starts to become more relevant. Where is the risk? In some places, the decisions seem somewhat arbitrary; to the whim of the author. Most of the coverage decisions are direct to the risks, and causes of the risks. Even within those, some of the reasons appear to be “old” ways of thinking.
In summary, this chapter gives the tester something they can use right now. It is the first finished feature of model-based testing. It is releasable, usable, and helpful.
Software Quality Assurance and Test 