Framework for Reusable Test Case Generation in Software Systems Testing

Agile methodologies have become the preferred choice for modern software development. These methods focus on iterative and incremental development, where both requirements and solutions develop through collaboration among cross-functional software development teams. The success of a software system is based on the quality result of each stage of development with proper test practice. A software test ontology should represent the required software test knowledge in the context of the software tester. Reusing test cases is an effective way to improve the testing of software. The workload of a software tester for test-case generation can be improved, previous software testing experience can be shared, and test efficiency can be increased by automating software testing. In this chapter, the authors introduce a software testing framework (STF) that uses rule-based reasoning (RBR), case-based reasoning (CBR), and ontology-based semantic similarity assessment to retrieve the test cases from the case library. Finally, experimental results are used to illustrate some of the features of the framework.

Сomputer system for alerting indoor microclimate critical values

An alert system has been studied, in which sensor data can be collected and analyzed for further processing and action. Notifications are generated when data is compared against certain criteria. The ESP8266 microcontroller has been chosen as the basic device for implementing such a system, as this Espressif controller is a highly integrated Wi-Fi SoC solution that meets the demands of the cyberphysical systems industry in low power consumption, compactness and reliability. This solution is one of the most effective for the alert system. On the basis of this microcontroller the technical means of the computer system and the functional software for realization of functions of monitoring and the notification of critical values of a microclimate indoors are designed. The architecture of the computer system is studied. The choice of the main components of the hardware part of the system is substantiated, the element base is considered. A detailed scheme of the software operation algorithm is offered, as well as the results of the developed computer system for alerting the critical values of the indoor microclimate are demonstrated.

Professionals' Views and Experiences of Using Rehabilitation Robotics With Stroke Survivors: A Mixed Methods Survey

Objective: To understand the reason for low implementation of clinical and home-based rehabilitation robots and their potential.Design: Online questionnaire (November 2020 and February 2021).Subjects: A total of 100 professionals in stroke rehabilitation area were involved (Physiotherapists n = 62, Occupation therapists n = 35).Interventions: Not applicable.Main Measures: Descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis were used to analyze the responses: 1. Participants' details, 2. Professionals' views and experience of using clinical rehabilitation robots, 3. Professionals' expectation and concerns of using home-based rehabilitation robots.Results: Of 100 responses, 37 had experience of rehabilitation robots. Professionals reported that patients enjoyed using them and they increased accessibility, autonomy, and convenience especially when used at home. The main emergent themes were: “aims and objectives for rehabilitation robotics,” “requirements” (functional, software, and safety), “cost,” “patient factors” (contraindications, cautions, and concerns), and “staff issues” (concerns and benefits). The main benefits of rehabilitation robots were that they provided greater choice for therapy, increased the amount/intensity of treatment, and greater motivation to practice. Professionals perceived logistical issues (ease of use, transport, and storage), cost and limited adaptability to patients' needs to be significant barriers to tier use, whilst acknowledging they can reduce staff workload to a certain extent.Conclusion: The main reported benefit of rehabilitation robots were they increased the amount of therapy and practice after stroke. Ease of use and adaptability are the key requirements. High cost and staffing resources were the main barriers.

Prospects for the application of the product life cycle system by means of the planned preventive maintenance module on the example of aviation and agricultural components

The paper describes an approach to the development of a functional software module within the subsystem of planning, rationing, preventive, routine maintenance, with the functions of accounting for the time of turning operations in the manufacture of machine parts for various purposes, in the general technological chain of the software complex of interacting ERP/MRP/CAD/CAM/CAE technologies of the enterprise, including forecasting both the time of resource operation and the production of necessary components, in order to support manufactured aviation, agricultural and other products throughout the life cycle.

Hybridized Ranking Model for Prioritizing Functional Software Requirements

Many difficulties exist when defining and deciding which requirements should be implemented first in an ultra-large-scale multi-stakeholder involved system. This often leads to system failure and product dissatisfaction. This paper established a suitable method supporting more precise and accurate decision-making in prioritizing requirements. We collected and analyzed a large number of software requirements in a case study, which was based on real-life practices and processes. Structured interviews and questionnaires were used to collect data from 600 stakeholders. We formulated a model based on the analyzed requirements using the CBRanking, and the MACBETH approaches. We ranked the requirements and considered the requirements' relative importance according to the stakeholders' opinions. Thus, a hybridized mathematical model was proposed for prioritizing these functional requirements and evaluated its performance for consistency and completeness. The results showed the software's best functional requirements concerning the customers' expectations.

OLP—A RESTful Open Low-Code Platform

Low-code is an emerging concept that transforms visual representations into functional software, allowing anyone to be a developer. However, building a low-code platform from scratch can be challenging concerning the scarce available literature about the topic. In this sense, this paper proposes an Open Low-Code Platform (OLP), a low-code solution that enables regular users to create applications. Furthermore, it presents low-code’s functional and nonfunctional requirements, as well as its similarities and its differences with the no-code concept. The experience obtained while developing OLP was translated into a pipeline that details how code was transformed from the visual representations into a fully fledged application. The paper demonstrates the solution’s viability and is especially useful for building a low-code platform from scratch or improving an existing one.

Cloud-based Software Platforms for Citizen Science: Implications and opportunities for biodiversity standards

Whether community created and driven, or developed and run by researchers, most citizen science projects operate on minimalistic budgets, their capacity to invest in fully featured bespoke software and databases is usually very limited. Further, the increasing number of applications and citizen science options available for public participation creates a confusing situation to navigate. Cloud-based platforms such as BioCollect, iNaturalist, eBird, CitSci.org, and Zooniverse, provide an opportunity for citizen science projects to leverage highly featured functional software capabilities at a fraction of the cost of developing their own, as well as a common channel through which the public can find and access projects. These platforms are also excellent vehicles to facilitate the implementation of data and metadata standards, which streamline interoperability and data sharing. Such services can also embed measures in their design, which uplift the descriptions and quality of data outputs, significantly amplifying their usability and value. In this presentation I outline the experiences of the Atlas of Living Australia on these issues and demonstrate how we are tackling them with the BioCollect and iNaturalist platforms. We also consider the differences and similarities of these two platforms with respect to standards and data structures in relation to suitability for different use cases. You are invited to join a discussion on approaches being adopted and offer insights for improved outcomes.

Evaluating software tools to conduct systematic reviews: a feature analysis and user survey

Systematic reviews are research synthesis methods increasingly used in educational research to support evidence-based decision making. The conduction of a systematic review is a complex process with several phases usually supported by software tools. These tools used at the international level are not currently common in the Italian educational research. This work describes four software tools used in the international educational research and evaluates their general functionality and specific features’ usability to conduct the systematic review phases of study screening and selection. For this purpose, this study uses two methods: a feature analysis (Kitchenham et al., 1997) and an expert survey (Harrison et al., 2020). The results of both investigation methods agree to consider Covidence and Rayyan the most functional software tools in conducting SR. Among the four tools, ASReview has the greatest potential for making the process of a SR more efficient. Una valutazione dei software per condurre revisioni sistematiche: analisi delle caratteristiche e sondaggio a esperti Le revisioni sistematiche sono metodi di sintesi di ricerca sempre più utilizzati in campo educativo al fine di supportare il processo decisionale basato su evidenze. La conduzione di una revisione sistematica, poiché complessa e su più fasi, è sovente supportata in ambito internazionale da software specifici attualmente poco diffusi nella ricerca educativa italiana. Il contributo presenta quattro software utilizzati nella ricerca educativa internazionale e valuta le funzionalità generali e l’usabilità di caratteristiche specifiche per condurre le fasi di screening e di selezione degli studi. A questo scopo lo studio impiega i metodi dell’analisi delle caratteristiche (Kitchenham et al., 1997) e del sondaggio ad esperti in revisioni sistematiche (Harrison et al., 2020) in campo educativo. I risultati di entrambi i metodi di indagine concordano nel ritenere Covidence e Rayyan gli strumenti più funzionali per condurre revisioni sistematiche, mentre ASReview risulta il software con maggiore potenzialità per rendere il processo più efficiente.

Efficient synthetic generation of ecological data with preset spatial association of individuals

Many experiments are not feasible to be conducted as factorials. Simulations using synthetically generated data are viable alternatives to such factorial experiments. The main objective of the present research is to develop a methodology and a platform to synthetically generate spatially explicit forest ecosystems represented by points with a predefined spatial pattern. Using algorithms with polynomial complexity and parameters that control the number of clusters, the degree of clusterization, and the proportion of nonrandom trees, we show that spatially explicit forest ecosystems can be generated time efficiently, which enable large factorial simulations. The proposed method was tested on 1200 synthetically generated forest stands, each of 25 ha, using 10 spatial indices: Clark-Evans aggregation index, Ripley’s K, Besag’s L, Morisita’s dispersion index, Greig-Smith index, the size dominance index of Hui, index of nonrandomness of Pielou, directional index and mean directional index of Corral-Rivas, and size differentiation index of Von Gadow. The size of individual trees was randomly generated aiming at variograms like real forests. We obtained forest stands with the expected spatial arrangement and distribution of sizes in less than one hour. To ensure replicability of the study we have provided a free fully functional software that executes the stated tasks.

Study of the possibility of using strapdown inertial gauges as part of the topographic location and navigation system of own design

Problem statement. During the operation of purchased navigation systems for topographic geodetic referencing and orientation, many shortcomings are revealed, mainly associated with software implementation, the correction of which is not always possible. A way out of this situation is creating own navigation complex from ready-made purchased meters and developed functional software (FSW). In this case, the primary task is to determine the preferable meters as part of the topographic location and navigation system (TLNS).Objective. Conduct a study of strapdown inertial navigation systems (SINS) of various manufacturers for compliance with the declared technical characteristics to determine a suitable meter for TLNS.Results. Information on the practical testing of studies the numerical estimates of standard deviations (SD) of errors in the determination and drift of grid azimuth, roll, and pitch of strapdown inertial meters in various climatic conditions, as well as under the influence of sinusoidal and broadband random vibrations (BRV) is presented. The values deviations of motion parameters from the reference values in autonomous mode as part of the developed navigation complex of mobile land objects of a particular purpose are analyzed. The preferable inertial meter for use in the developed TLNS was determined based on the research carried out.Practical implications. Recommendations are given on the use of SINS as an integral part at the facilities of the proposed base.