Text

Trustworthy and Human-Centered Test Automation (TAHCTA)

2025-04-03

Trustworthy and Human-Centered Test Automation(TAHCTA) is a project aimed at making automated software testing more reliable, transparent, and
aligned with human values. It integrates human reasoning into AI-driven testing to tackle challenges like bias, explainability, and trust in automated systems. By combining cognitive psychology, ethical principles, and advanced AI testing techniques, TAHCTA helps ensure that mission-critical software is tested in a way that strengthens confidence and trust.

Why this Matters

Industrial software systems—such as those used in healthcare, transportation, and critical infrastructure—require rigorous testing to ensure safety and reliability.
AI-powered testing can handle complex and uncertain conditions, making it a valuable tool for these high-stakes environments. However, to gain acceptance in industry, AI-based testing must be trustworthy, transparent, and fair. TAHCTA helps ensure automated testing is not just efficient, but also accountable and aligned with human needs, fostering confidence in AI-driven software verification.

Key Focus Areas

TAHCTA addresses several challenges in modern test automation:
•Bias in AI Testing: Examining how both human and automated testing processes can introduce biases and developing ways to reduce them.
•Trust and Explainability: Improving how AI-powered testing systems present their results to ensure decisions are understandable and justifiable.
•Visualizing Test Results: Creating interactive dashboards to help developers and stakeholders quickly assess and interpret test outcomes.
•Seamless Integration: Ensuring advanced AI testing tools work smoothly within existing development workflows.
•Human-AI Collaboration: Enhancing synergies between human expertise and automated testing tools to improve decision-making.

Key Results

The TAHCTA project is making automated testing more reliable and human-centered through several innovations:
Reducing Bias: By identifying and mitigating biases in human and automated testing, the approach ensures fairer, more accurate test results.
• Better Decision-Making: Interactive dashboards and visual tools make it easier for stakeholders to interpret test outcomes and make informed choices.
• Ethical AI Testing Frameworks: Establishing guidelines to ensure AI-powered test tools align with ethical standards and promote responsible AI use.

Research Leader

Assoc. Prof. Eduard Paul Enoiu

FACTS BOX

Project name: TAHCTA (Trustworthy and Human-Centered Test Automation)

Team: Assoc. Prof. Eduard Paul Enoiu (leader), Jean Malm (Lecturer and PhD student), and Prof. Björn Lisper

Funding: Software Center (direct company funding + MDU)

Duration: July 2024 - June 2025 (organized in 6-month sprints with industrial and academic collaboration, potentially extending beyond June 2025).

Partners: Siemens, Zenseact, Volvo CE, MDU, University of Gothenburg.