Advanced Testing of Systems-of-Systems, Volume 2

12Case Study

A saying in the military field attributed to General Omar Bradley states that “amateurs talk strategy. Professionals talk logistics”. This maxim also applies to the world of software testing and even more to system-of-systems testing. We have described in the previous chapters many aspects related to testing, each in isolation. The interactions between the actors and the processes make the logistical aspects become as much – if not more – important than the methodological aspects, to achieve the desired level of quality.

Below is a case study, with various development models and functional areas. We will thus be able to understand how the various preceding chapters interact within the framework of the tests of systems-of-systems. This case study merges various clients that the author has had the pleasure of working with, so it is not representative of any one client or industry. The proposals and suggestions for implementing test activities are the author’s suggestions and not the choices of companies that served as inspiration.

A common point is the difficulty of having all the elements necessary to control the quality of the systems-of-systems to be delivered. The most advanced techniques, resources, testing tools, environments are necessary, but they are constrained by the reality of limited budgets, very short deadlines, siled visions and limited short-term objectives.

12.1. Case study: improvement of an existing complex system

This case study does not relate ...