Pariyhdistelmätestaus

Pariyhdistelmätestaus, also known as pairwise testing or all-pairs testing, is a software testing technique that aims to ensure that every possible pair of input parameters is tested at least once. This method is particularly useful when testing systems with a large number of configurable options or parameters, where a full factorial testing approach (testing all combinations of all parameters) would be computationally prohibitive. The core idea is that most software defects arise from interactions between two parameters, rather than more complex combinations.

The process of creating a pairwise test suite typically involves a combinatorial testing tool. These tools take the list of parameters and their possible values as input and generate a minimal set of test cases that covers all unique pairs of parameter values. This significantly reduces the number of test cases compared to exhaustive testing, while still providing good test coverage for common types of errors.

Benefits of pairwise testing include its efficiency in reducing the test effort and test execution time. It helps to identify defects that might be missed by less systematic approaches. However, it is important to note that pairwise testing does not guarantee the discovery of all defects, especially those arising from interactions involving three or more parameters. Therefore, it is often used in conjunction with other testing methods as part of a comprehensive testing strategy. The effectiveness of pairwise testing is dependent on the quality of the parameter definitions and the chosen tool for generating the test cases.