Integration testing techniques for component-based software: a systematic review protocol

Abstract

In 1968 the idea of Component-Based Software Engineering (CBSE) was introduced at the NATO conference. The emergence of CBSE facilitates the development of today’s complex software applications by using pre-built software units called components. Consequently, CBSE has gained wide attention amongst software engineers and researchers. This attention arises from the many benefits that can be obtained by using components to develop today’s complex software applications. However, to develop software applications using components; components need to be integrated and tested. Thus, integration testing becomes an essential activity in CBSE. Unfortunately, up to now integration testing of CBS is still one of the open issues in software engineering. In the literature, different solutions for integration testing of CBS have been proposed. The main goal for conducting this study is to review existing work into integration testing for CBS in order to identify future research directions in this area. This paper aims at presenting a systematic review protocol and the steps of applying the protocol. The expected outcome after implementing this protocol will be the identification of issues and challenges in the area of integration testing for CBS.