Various strategies for fault identification exist - e.g.
based on formal analysis of code or on testing - of
which each focuses on certain identification aspects and
fault types. This paper characterises the strengths and
weaknesses of methods – in theory and practice -
focusing on application-independent identification
strategies, and it suggests strategies to maximise the
number of detected faults while minimising the related
effort. Fault activation conditions are discussed in
detail, resulting in an extended scope on stimulation
needs. In particular, the contribution of automation in
raising the activation probabilities is investigated.
Various examples of fault activation mechanisms and
statistics on fault types vs. identification methods are
provided as observed in practice. An interesting result is
the identification of application-dependent test cases by
application-independent test strategies.