Papers
Regression Testing with Random Tests Cannot Identify Regressions. - What to do about it.
Most ASIC companies use random tests not only to verify new designs but also for regression testing. Using random tests for regression testing is a great idea for coverage as the randomness over time will ensure that the total coverage will improve. Instead of running the same tests every night, each night’s regression test suite is slightly different with different seeds. However improving coverage is not what the specific topic of regression testing is about. The purpose of regression testing is to quickly identify dips in quality, i.e. regressions, in order to address them and keep the quality high. And here random tests have one downside – they cannot identify regressions. But there are ways to address this issue.
Driving Blindfolded – Solving The Triage Challenge!
When regression tests fail, an engineer must decide which failing tests should be further analyzed and by whom - a process called triage. The challenge is the dearth of information about the bug and its creator at this early stage. This session outlines a novel method that addresses the issue by driving the testing to gather enough information to do fully automated triaging. This paper explains how this innovative approach solves the triage challenge, thus accelerating the bug fixing process by 30%.