Using Mutation Testing to Teach Test Adequacy in Undergraduate Software Engineering
Sabbir Hosen Mamun, Daniel A. Fernández, Beatriz M. Cardoso
ACM Global Computing Education Conference, pp. 142-151, Hyderabad, India · ACM
✦ Honourable Mention
Abstract
Students often interpret passing tests as evidence that a program is thoroughly validated. We introduce a sequence of mutation-testing labs that expose weak assertions, untested branches, and overfitted fixtures. Compared with a coverage-only baseline, mutation-based feedback led to stronger boundary-value tests and better explanations of why line coverage alone is insufficient.
Cite this work
@inproceedings{Mamun2023Using,
title = {Using Mutation Testing to Teach Test Adequacy in Undergraduate Software Engineering},
author = {Sabbir Hosen Mamun and Daniel A. Fernández and Beatriz M. Cardoso},
year = {2023},
booktitle = {ACM Global Computing Education Conference},
pages = {142-151},
address = {Hyderabad, India},
publisher = {ACM},
abstract = {Students often interpret passing tests as evidence that a program is thoroughly validated. We introduce a sequence of mutation-testing labs that expose weak assertions, untested branches, and overfitted fixtures. Compared with a coverage-only baseline, mutation-based feedback led to stronger boundary-value tests and better explanations of why line coverage alone is insufficient.},
}S. H. Mamun, D. A. Fernández, B. M. Cardoso, "Using Mutation Testing to Teach Test Adequacy in Undergraduate Software Engineering," in ACM Global Computing Education Conference, 2023, pp. 142-151.
Sabbir Hosen Mamun, Daniel A. Fernández, and Beatriz M. Cardoso. 2023. Using Mutation Testing to Teach Test Adequacy in Undergraduate Software Engineering. In ACM Global Computing Education Conference (Hyderabad, India). ACM, 142-151.
Mamun, S. H., Fernández, D. A., & Cardoso, B. M. (2023). Using Mutation Testing to Teach Test Adequacy in Undergraduate Software Engineering. In ACM Global Computing Education Conference (pp. 142-151). ACM.