Rapid "Crash Testing" for Continuously Evolving GUI-Based Software Applications

Several rapid-feedback-based quality assurance mechanisms are used to manage the quality of continuously evolving software. Even though Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) are one of the most important parts of software, there are currently no mechanisms to quickly retest evolving GUI software. The paper leverages the previous work on GUI testing to define a new automatic GUI re-testing process called "Crash testing" that is integrated with GUI evolution. They show, via empirical studies, that the crash tests are effective at revealing serious problems in the GUI.