Date: Jan 01, 2012 Source: ARMY SBIR Success Story (
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The Army is building highly complex information systems leveraging state-of-the-art computer language, software architectures, and new networking paradigms to achieve more transparent computing and software intensive systems capabilities. The complexity of these systems is challenging traditional testing methods, processes and technologies which have not kept abreast with the software they are designed to test. Compounding these challenges is that the existing test model has proven to be too expensive to convert manual test procedures to automated tests. In addition, current test automation technologies build test architectures which are tightly coupled to the physical source code and data model which results in frequent break downs of the tests, causing unplanned cost and schedule delays.
The Darwin technology developed by ProServices can build flexible test architectures and provide technology to define and describe the various test dimensions within a framework that can be leveraged against the system's source code and data models. It also incorporates algorithms which are applied to generate test frameworks. These algorithms are used to vary the data models, sequence and other relationship dimensions to achieve an unprecedented flexibility and variability that can be auto constructed. Darwin reverses the current economic model of automated testing by giving a mechanism to re-factor thousands of automated tests into one Darwin test framework. This re-factoring allows the program to create orders of magnitudes of tests for the same cost as current processes, as well as obtaining a flexible test model abstracted from the code reducing the costs of rework due to breakage. Using Darwin, unit tests can be constructed to become a key component during the integration testing enabling organizations to recoup and leverage the investments made early in the development lifecycle.
Technology Transition:
ProServices has received a $1M Phase III contract award from Lockheed Martin and a $500K contract from the Program Manager, Distributed Common Ground System-Army (PM DCGS-A). The Program Executive Office Intelligence Electronic Warfare & Sensors (PEO IEW&S) and Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training & Instrumentation (PEO STRI) have shown interest in Darwin and its capabilities.
