How TsDD Improves the Quality and Efficiency of TDD: An Empirical Evaluation
Keywords:
Agile methodology , Software engineering, Software testing, Test-driven development, Testable driven developmentAbstract
Test-oriented development, a key aspect of agile methodologies, prioritizes creating test functions and test classes before writing code. This approach relies on trial and error, guided by test results, to achieve software design. However, the large number of tests in such methodologies can be time-consuming and conflict with the goal of rapid software production. Parsa introduced a new method called Testability-driven Development (TsDD). This method involves evaluating testability using a static model without executing the code. If necessary, the code is refactored to improve testability, thereby ensuring effective testing. Notably, there is no specific classification of automatic refactoring methods or their associated quality improvements. Consequently, this research aims to define refactoring methods based on testability. The study aims to compare the testability of the new method with the established test-driven development approach. In this paper, we defined refactoring methods based on testability. It was observed that improving one quality parameter through renovation may have contradictory effects, leading to a reduction in other quality attributes. Hence, in the testability-based development method, it is suggested to measure the quality and refactor the code, if necessary, after the testing phase. Through statistical analysis, we achieved an increase in code coverage from 71.9% to 82.151% in the commons-codec project. On average, the testability improvement for three popular packages was 12.54%, resulting in an 8.96% reduction in test time for these packages.
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