Model-based Automation of Test Script Generation Across Product Variants: a Railway Perspective

In this work, we report on our experience in defining and applying a model-based approach for the automatic generation of test scripts for product variants in software product lines. The proposed approach is the result of an effort leveraging the experiences and results from the technology transfer activities with our industrial partner Bombardier Transportation. The proposed approach employs metamodelling and model transformations for representing different testing artefacts and making their generation automatic. We demonstrate the industrial applicability and efficiency of the proposed approach using the Bombardier Transportation Aventra software product line. We observe that the proposed approach mitigates the development effort, time consumption and consistency drawbacks typical of traditional strategies.

I. Introduction

Among others, the railway sector has witnessed an increased demand for customised software-intensive systems for addressing market needs, regional standards, certifications as well as software and hardware requirements. To meet this increased customisation demand, Bombardier Transportation (BT) has been shifting towards Software Product Line (SPL) Engineering (SPLE) [1].