ATOS: Automated Testing of SOFIE

The Norwegian Tax Administration is maintaining a system for the tax accounting in Norway, handling yearly tax revenues of approximately 600 Billion NOK. The system, called SOFIE, has evolved over the past 10 years to provide dependable, automated, efficient and integrated services to the 430 tax municipalities and more than 3000 users. However, the system has grown to a size and complexity where the current, manual testing processes are no longer deemed to be adequate or cost-effective. In particular the number of regression faults indicates needs for implementing systematic, automated regression testing in the project.  

Simula Research Laboratory and the Norwegian Tax Administration established a cooperation project, named Automated testing of SOFIE (ATOS). Originally, it staffed both a senior researcher and a PhD student from Simula, in addition to a variable number of resources from the Norwegian Tax Administration, which then aimed to improve the quality assurance processes in the SOFIE project, and furthermore for the Tax Administration in general. The contract was renegotiated after the departure of the senior researcher, and chose then to focus solely on the PhD concerning the implementation of systematic and automated regression testing for their systems, which was their main priority.

The final goal of the project is to introduce a higher degree of test automation (including a test tool) in order to improve regression testing of large database applications, also involving an enhanced scheme for handling test data in a systematic manner.

Funding source

The Norwegian Tax Administration

Partners

• The Norwegian Tax Administration
• Simula Research Laboratory