Equivalence Classes

Equivalence classes are sets of values in which a system should behave identically. For example, set an equivalence class for hot values that range from 60 to 100. The temperature controller is expected to behave in the same way whenever a temperature value falls between 60 and 100.

This technique tries to define test cases that uncover errors, thereby reducing the total number of test cases that must be developed. An advantage of this approach is the reduction in the time required for testing due to lesser number of test cases. The goal is to achieve a maximal error detection rate with a minimum number of test cases.

You can use equivalence classes

• during test modeling, to set values for signals, see Model Steps with Equivalence Classes
• to produce test cases and variants; the generated test cases and variants will cover the selected equivalence classes, Generate Test Cases from Equivalence Classes
• in the assessment, to check whether the value of a channel falls inside a range of a specific equivalence class, see Assesslet Types - Equivalence Classes; use the Equivalence Classes assesslet to add equivalence classes in the report

To create equivalence classes, see Create an Equivalence Class Set.