Recent advances in classifying risk-based testing approaches

Risk‐based testing is a pragmatic approach widely used in companies of all sizes which uses the straightforward idea of focusing test activities on those scenarios that trigger the most critical situations of a software system. This chapter provides an (updated) taxonomy of risk‐based testing aligned with risk considerations in all phases of a test process. It consists of three top‐level classes: contextual setup, risk assessment, and risk‐based test strategy. This taxonomy provides a framework to understand, categorize, assess, and compare risk‐based testing approaches to support their selection and tailoring for specific purposes. The chapter presents background on software testing and risk management. It also presents the following four selected recent risk‐based testing approaches: the RASEN approach; the SmartTesting approach; risk‐based test case prioritization based on the notion of risk exposure; and risk‐based testing of open source software.