Putting the Squeeze on Test Sequences

Dynamic test sequence compaction is an effective means of reducing test application time and often results in higher fault coverages and reduced test generation time as well. A new algorithm for dynamic test sequence compaction is presented that uses genetic techniques to evolve test sequences. Test sequences provided by a test generator and previously evolved sequences already included in the test set are used as seeds in the genetic population. Significant improvements in test set size, fault coverage, and test generation time have been obtained over previous approaches.