A Novel Risk-Based Testing Framework for Distributed Agile Software Development

Distributed Agile Software Development (DASD) is one of the most commonly adopted lifecycle methodologies in the IT industry. It combines the speed benefits and adaptability of agile development with the cost-effectiveness of distributed development. In DASD, software is built iteratively in sprints, allowing for changes to be introduced in the later stages of development. However, such changes can affect the functionality of previously implemented features, highlighting the critical need for regression testing. In distributed agile environments, constraints on resources, time, and communication make it essential to prioritize tasks to maximise the efficiency of testing efforts. This work presents a novel risk-based Test Case Prioritization (TCP) approach for a distributed agile environment that aims to prioritize test cases based on the risk values associated with features by correlating sprint features with their corresponding test cases. The risk value of a feature is evaluated by considering modified requirements, feature complexity, and interdependencies. The goal is to identify and test high-risk features early in the distributed agile development cycle, thereby uncovering critical defects earlier. The proposed work is evaluated using an empirical study. The results show that the proposed technique has outperformed the existing state-of-the-art techniques