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NewsletterJune | 2016

Certus at a glance

6 collaborating partners:• ABB• CancerRegistryofNorway• Cisco• Esito• KongsbergMaritime• SimulaResearchLaboratory• NorwegianCustoms

People involved (2015):• 56people

Budget (2016)• 21420000,-NOK

Certusisaresearch-basedinnovationcentrethatunitessomeofthebrightestheadsinsoftwarevalidationandverificationresearch.

TheCertuscentrehasestablishedabodyofmethodsandtoolsforthevalidationandverificationofsoftware-intensivesystems,andfocusesonthreetypesofsystems:

• Real-timeembeddedsoftwaresystems• Highlyconfigurablesoftwaresystems• Data-intensivesoftwaresystems

TheCentre’sobjectiveistodeliverresearchresultswithinthefieldofsoftwaretestingatahighinternationalstandard.

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TheUserPartnerWorkshopofthespringof2016tookplaceApril28-29,kindlyhostedbytheCancerRegistryofNorway,whichhasrecentlyjoinedtheranksoftheuserpartners.

The Certus User Partner Workshop

TheeventwasconjointlyorganisedwithOKONI,aFrenchconsultancyagencyspecialisedinthecreationofinnovativelaboratoryworkandeducation,andthepartnersoftheCertusconsortium.Theformatofthetwodayworkshopdevatedfromastandardseminarevent,asOKONIhadlaidouttwotablesfullofvariouscreativeutilities,includingbuildingblocks,markers,spraypaint,andsmall-scaleelectricalengineeringequipment.

UPW Spring 2016:

• April 28-29• At the Cancer Registry of

Norway

• ABB Robotics: 4• Cancer Registry: 5• Cisco: 5• ESITO: 3• Kongsberg Maritime: 3• Norwegian Customs: 3 • Simula: 12

Attendees:

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“Iamdelightedtoseethatwemanagedtocreatethisleveloftrustandunderstandingwhichpermitsustoco-createandco-innovatealtogether,andlookatthefutureofCertuswithgreatconfidence,”CentreleaderArnaudGotliebcontinues.TheinputandfeedbackreceivedduringandaftertheeventhasbeenabeneficiallearningexperienceforCertus,andwehopethatthisfeelingextendstotheconsortium.

TheworkshopaimedatcreatingphysicalexhibitionsaroundCertus’twomainstreamtechnologies,namelyCRYSTALandDEPICT.Forthatpurpose,OKONIhelpedboththeresearchersandengineersincreatingconcretepresentationsofthesetechnologies.Thegoalwastofacilitateasharedunderstandingoftheirpotentialandpurposes.

ArnaudGotlieb,leaderofCertusCentre,saysthat“InnovativeusecasesofCRYSTALandDEPICTwereproposedanddirectionsforfurthercollaborationsemergednaturallyfromthisworkshop.”

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New member of the Certus consortium

DirectorofCRNJanNygård

ThisiswhereapartnershipwithCertusmayproduceinterestingresults.“HavingCRNasapartnerofCertusopensupthedoortoperformcollaborativeresearchindataqualityassessment,andsoftwaretesting”,saysResearchscientistSagarSen,whoworkscloselywithCRN.Hecontinues:“Asacontributinguser-partner,CRNnowdrivesforwardtheresearchactivitiesundertakenbyresearchersofthecenter,anditcanexpecttheCertuscentertodevelopresearchideasandproduceresearchresults(i.e.,prototypetools,methodologies,knowledgetransfer)inmobilesocialcomputingandinformationsystemsreliabilitydedicatedtoitsveryspecificneeds.Webelievethatjoininghandstoexploitinterdisciplinaryexpertiseisanunchartedterritoryandwiththispartnershipwewillsetsailtowardsunprecedentedbreakthroughs.”

In2016,CertusexpandedtheconsortiumtoincludetheCancerRegistryofNorway(CRN).Softwaresystemsareanintegralpartfortheeffectivefunctioningofanymediumtolarge-sizedorganisationsuchasCRN,butCRNisinauniquepositionduetotheamountofmedicaldatathatmustbeprocessedconfidentiallyandalwaysbekeptuptodate.

This is the Cancer Registry of Norway:

• Organisation that maps cancer cases in Norway

• Performs clinical, screening-based and etiological research

• 160 employees• They receive around

140 000 notifications related to cancer illness each year.

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What’s new with Certus?

OnJanuary1st,AreMagnusBruasetofSimulastooddownasastheLeaderoftheBoard,andpassedthetorchtoJanChristianKerlefsenofABB.

January

• 2012–present:HeadofABBRoboticsNorway,ABBRobotics,Bryne

• 2012–present:R&DManager,ABBRobotics,Bryne

• 2005–2012:R&DManagerSoftware,ABBRobotics,Bryne

• 2002–2005:R&DEngineer,ABBRobot-ics,Bryne

• 1999–2002:SeniorSoftwareDesigner,SonyCorporation,Tokyo

• 1993–1999:ResearchScientist,NorskRegnesentral,Oslo

• 1993:Sivilingeniør,ComputingScienceUniversityofNewcastle-upon-Tyne/NTH

Mr.Kerlefsen,whohasconsiderableexperiencewithappliedresearch,isexcitedtocontributetothedevelopmentofCertusinitsfinalphase.“Comingfromanappliedresearchbackground,IamexcitedabouttheSFIinstrumentandthepossibilitiestoleverageonthecooperationbetweenworldclassresearchandworldclassindustrialsoftwaredevelopment.Iamproudtoserveasthechairoftheboard,andIamlookingforwardtocontinuethesuccessofthecentre,”hestates.

Certushasbeenactivesince2011,andisnowwellpastthemidwaypoint,whereitisnaturaltofocusonthecontinuationoftheworkaftertheSFIprojecthasrunitsterm.Mr.Kerlefsensays,“Duringthelifetimeofthecentre,weproduceresearch,wearrangeworkshopsandwerunvalue-creatingprojectsforthepartners.Withallthepublicfundinggiventothecentre,IalsofeelastrongobligationtocreatesomethingthatwillcontinuetodelivervalueaftertheSFIperiod.”Thediscussionsonthepost-SFIpotentialforCertushavealreadybegun.“Fortheexitstrategy,wearediscussingaCertusTestingLaboratory.Thediscussionisongoingintheconsortium,andwebegintoseetheoutlinesofhowwecanleverageontheresultsofthecentretocreatesomethingthatissustainableandcanoutlivetheSFIperiod,”Kerlefsenstates.

Resumé, in brief:

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Certusresearchersactivelyparticipateininternationalworkshopsandconferences.Inthespringof2016,ourresearchershaveattendedseveralconferences.

FromFebruary12toFebruary17,CentreleaderArnaudGotliebattendedThe Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence (IAAI)conference,whichisatrackoftheAssociation for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence Conference (AAAI’16),atthePhoenixConventionCenterinArizona,USA.

AAAIisthepremiumvenueforpublishingnewandastonishingresultsinArtificialIntelligence.CentreleaderArnaudGotliebrepresentedCertusattheconferenceforthefirsttimethisyear,presentingresultsfromcollaborativeresearchbetweenSimula,CiscoandABB.

Thepresentationofthepaper“Automatedregressiontestingusingconstraintprogramming”,wasverywellreceivedandattractedabroadaudience.Thepaperwasco-authoredwithMatsCarlssonfromSICS(Sweden),MariusLiaaenfromCisco,andDusicaMarijanandAlexandrePetillonfromSimula.

Byattendingtheconference,afirststephasbeentakentowardstheinclusionofmoreartificialintelligenceintheexcitingchallengesandnewapplicationareasbroughtbyCertusindustrialpartners.

February

What’s new with Certus?

Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence (IAAI)

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What’s new with Certus?

May

May14-22:The International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE) isthemostprestigioussoftwareengineeringconference.Itaimsatpublishinghighqualityworkscoveringtheentirelifecycleofsoftwaredevelopmentfromrequirementtotesting.Thisyear,CertusSFIcontributedtoICSEbyproducingtwopapersbasedonthejointworkbetweenresearchersinCertus(postdoctoralresearcherShuaiWang,seniorresearchscientistShaukatAliandchiefresearchscientistTaoYue)andourindustrialpartners(Cisco).

Dr.WangparticipatedtheconferencelocatedinAustin,USAandpresentedthetwopapers,whichare“APracticalGuidetoSelectQualityIndicatorsforAssessingPareto-BasedSearchAlgorithmsinSearch-BasedSoftwareEngineering”inmaintechnicaltrackand“EnhancingTestCasePrioritizationinanIndustrialSettingwithResourceAwarenessandMulti-ObjectiveSearch”inSoftwareEngineeringInPractice(SEIP)track.Bothofthepresentationstriggeredinterestingdiscussionsandreceivedinspiringquestionsandhelpfulfeedback.Thiswillprovefruitfulforourfuturework.

The International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE)

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OnMay14-15,researchersofCertusProject9(SmarterTestingofEvolvingSystems)attendedthe13thInternational Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR)topresenttheirworkonaggregatingevidencefromsoftwareanalyticstoimprovechangeimpactanalysisandeventuallytestingrecommendations.MSRisthepremierconferenceontheuseofsoftwareanalyticsandmachinelearningtechniquestoanalyzetherichbodyofdatathatisproducedduringthesoftwareengineeringprocess,anduncoverinterestingandactionableinformationfortheevolutionandmanagementofsoftwaresystemsandprojects.

TheworkpresentedbytheCertusresearchersisbasedontheobservationthatexistingapproachesforbuildingrecommendationenginesgenerallyonlyusethestrongestpieceofevidenceevenifmultiplepiecesofevidenceexist,whereasbetterrecommendationsmaybeobtainedbycombiningallexistingevidence.Thepaperinvestigatesvariousapproachesforcombiningevidenceandevaluatesthemontwolargeindustrialsystems(fromCertuspartnersKongsbergMaritimeandCisco)andfourlargeopensourcesystems.Theevaluationresultsshowthattheirproposedaggregationofevidenceindeedleadstoasignificantimprovementintheresultingrecommendations.

Future events

Conferences to Attend:

• Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO), 2016

• International Systems and Software Product Line Con-ference, 2016

International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR)

What’s new with Certus?

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R.Bagnara,M.Carlier,R.Gori,andA.GotliebExploitingBinaryFloating-PointRepresentationsforConstraintPropagationINFORMSJournalofComputing(JoC)28,no.1

A.Hervieu,D.Marijan,andA.GotliebPracticalMinimizationofPairwise-CoveringTestConfigurationsUsingConstraintProgrammingInformationandSoftwareTechnology71(2016):129-146.

J.DeLaVara,M.Borg,K.Wnuk,andL.MoonenAnIndustrialSurveyofSafetyEvidenceChangeImpactAnalysisPracticeIEEETransactionsonSoftwareEngineering99(2016)

L.MoonenandA.R.YazdanshenasAnalyzingandVisualizingInformationFlowinHeterogeneousComponent-BasedSoftwareSystemsInformationandSoftwareTechnology77(2016):34-55

Published journal articles

T.Rolfsnes,S.DiAlesio,R.Behjati,L.MoonenandD.BinkelyGeneralizingtheAnalysisofEvolutionaryCouplingforSoftwareChangeImpactAnalysisIn23rdIEEEInternationalConferenceonSoftwareAnalysis,Evolution,andReengineering(SANER).IEEE,2016.

A.Gotlieb,M.Carlsson,M.Liaaen,D.MarijanandA.PetillonAutomatedRegressionTestingUsingConstraintProgrammingInTwenty-EighthConferenceonInnovativeApplicationsofArtificialIntelligence(IAAI-16),Phoenix,AZ,USA,Feb.2016.

M.Mossige,A.GotliebandH.MelingGeneratingTestsforRobotizedPaintingUsingConstraintProgrammingInInt.JointConf.onArtificialIntelligence(IJCAI-16)-SisterConferenceBestPaperTrack.NewYorkCity,2016.

S.Wang,S.Ali,T.Yue,Y.LiandM.Liaaen.APracticalGuidetoSelectQualityIndicatorsforAssessingPareto-BasedSearchAlgorithmsinSearch-BasedSoftwareEngineering.Inthe38thInternationalConferenceonSoftwareEngineering(ICSE),pp.631-642,2016.

S.Wang,S.AliT.Yue,Ø.Bakkeli,andM.Liaaen.EnhancingTestCasePrioritizationinanIndustrialSettingwithResourceAwarenessandMulti-ObjectiveSearch.Inthe38thInternationalConferenceonSoftwareEngineering(ICSE),SoftwareEngineeringinPractice(SEIP)track,pp.182-191,2016.

T.Rolfsnes,L.Moonen,S.DiAlesio,R.Behjati,andD.BinkleyImprovingChangeRecommendationusingAggregatedAssociationRules13thInternationalConferenceonMiningSoftwareRepositories(MSR),pp.73-84,2016

Published refereed proceedings

Publications January-June2016

Photography:BårdGudimEditor:KarolineHagane