Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I have worked on software development for many years before working in software QA. I bought the book because of all the promises and hypes about model based testing, which is quite appealing. I used Spec# early on, but quickly turned off by the difficulty, complexity of the tool and for most part, a lack of support. NModel fixes all that (okay nearly)
The book starts with a historical review of modeling tools. If you want to get to the heart of the subject start at chapter 5 which lays out the principles of modeling software. Any software development experience will be beneficial since it assumes that you've done some software analysis and development.
The tools that the authors are offering are freely available from NModel website.
Mpv - is what you use to generate a FSM from your model, which the tool turns into a *.dot file for visualization.
Otg - off line test generator allows you to generate test cases from the model you built.
Ct - allows you to execute test cases generated by using Otg. It requires a stepper (see below)
If you have decent C# coding skill you should be able to read and follow the examples given in the book (which you can also download from NModel website). The work flow is 1) create a VS project, 2) analyze and describe your model in C# 3) compile it 4) generate test cases using Otg 5) build a stepper, and 6) execute the test cases. If a test case fails it indicates that there's a bug in the system under test or there's a bug in your model, or a requirement is ill-defined. A stepper is a test harness that bridges the model to the system under test. In practice expect to put in just as many time and effort on coding a stepper as coding your model.
In my project I successfully adapted NModel to build a model for a medical embedded device. My model described the behavior of the device. The test cases were generated on a host (pc) and a stepper executed each test case against the device. The tool captured the response from the device and compared it against the expected result generated from the model. I was able to generate hundreds of test cases easily based on the model I built, which is the real payoff. I was given enough time to work on a model and a test harness, but if your management does not understand the up-front cost of a model based testing this could be a hard sell.
This book offers a practical approach to software modeling and the tools they offer do work as advertised (please visit their homepage at codeplex for a bug list) My advice to those curious is to start with a small project, gain some experience before tackling a real project. I would recommend the book to anyone who might consider a model based testing, and I would consider using NModel tool set for my next project as well.
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Written by the original members of an industry standardization group, this book shows you how to use UML to test complex software systems. It is the definitive reference for the only UML-based test specification language, written by the creators of that language. It is supported by an Internet site that provides information on the latest tools and uses of the profile. The authors introduce UTP step-by-step, using a case study that illustrates how UTP can be used for test modeling and test specification.
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