Expanding the Scope and Scale of Mutation Analysis​

Today’s software systems are complex, with many applications (e.g., Gmail, Facebook) composed of large numbers of software components interacting with users to form sophisticated applications. Developers use tests to check the quality of their applications – a process known to be difficult and costly. The TCD Complex Software Lab is working on creating complex artificial bugs to “test the tests” and make sure they are robust. The sheer number of potential artificial bugs requires sophisticated AI based algorithms to identify the most interesting bugs. Our research is leveraging these artificial bugs to create more robust tests. In this poster we will present the motivation for our research, some of our current solutions (e.g., a patent we obtained recently for our work with Fidelity Investments Ireland, and a couple of best paper awards at CORE A conferences) and our research directions and plans.