Error trapping and metamorphic testing for spreadsheet failure detection

This study deepens the research on error trapping (ET) and metamorphic testing (MT) for detecting spreadsheet failures. It is observed that some spreadsheet developers and testers are confused between ET and MT, because the two techniques are similar to each other in some aspects. Inspired by the observation, this paper first outlines the main concepts of ET and MT using several examples for illustration. This is followed by discussing an experiment with a view to investigating and comparing the failure detection capabilities of the two techniques. The results of the experiment indicate that neither technique is sufficient in spreadsheet testing. Rather, ET and MT are complementary and they should be used together in spreadsheet testing whenever possible.