Content-Level Conformance Testing: An Information Mapping Case Study

Abstract

Content-level conformance testing is a key to achieving interoper-able data exchange among applications deployed across collaborating, yet in-dependent enterprises. In this paper, we identify four types of content-level conformance tests to support interoperable data exchange: document verifica-tion tests, information mapping tests, transaction behavior tests, and scenario-based tests. We describe in substantial detail our experience with information mapping tests within an industrial B2B integration effort. We review different approaches to information mapping conformance verification including logical consistency checking, human-computer interaction, and event-based checking. We adopt the human-computer interaction approach and describe a test-case generation methodology. The methodology details modeling, test requirements specification, abstract test-case definition, and, ultimately, executable test-case generation. Lastly, we provide experimental results of applying our methodol-ogy in the context of an automotive industry development of data exchange standard for interoperable inventory visibility applications.