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[Engineering and Systems Software Research Group - UFAL <mp+466404@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Engineering and Systems Software Research Group - UFAL has proposed merging lp:~easy-ufal/ubuntu-manual-tests/improve-1424 into lp:ubuntu-manual-tests.

Commit message:
Improve test case 1424_Nautilus

Requested reviews:
  Ubuntu Testcase Admins (ubuntu-testcase)

For more details, see:
https://code.launchpad.net/~easy-ufal/ubuntu-manual-tests/improve-1424/+merge/466404

The goal of this merge request is to improve test cases by identifying and removing test smells. The term test smell is often used in automated tests but current research has demonstrated that they also exist in natural language test cases. Potential problems they can cause are non-deterministic behavior,  incomplete verification, poor maintainability, and loss of productivity.

In this merge request, we address the Misplaced Precondition smell, which is a condition erroneously placed as part of the test actions instead of being treated as an independent precondition. Instead of focusing on verifying a specific system behavior, the test ends up becoming a confusing mix of preconditions and actions, obscuring the real intent of the test. The presence of such smell could lead some testers to fail a test that should not be executed in the first place, which results in non-deterministic behavior.

The first action contains several preconditions. These preconditions can lead to the incorrect interpretation of the test. This way, instead of placing them at an action field, we move to the preconditions field (enclosed in a `<em></em>` tag).

References:

Manoel Aranda, et Al. "A Catalog of Transformations to Remove Test Smells in Natural Language Tests." 28th International Conference on Evaluation and Assessment in Software Engineering (EASE 2024).

Elvys Soares, et Al. "Manual Tests Do Smell! Cataloging and Identifying Natural Language Test Smells." 17th ACM/IEEE International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement (ESEM 2023).

-- 
Your team Ubuntu Testcase Admins is requested to review the proposed merge of lp:~easy-ufal/ubuntu-manual-tests/improve-1424 into lp:ubuntu-manual-tests.

=== modified file 'testcases/packages/1424_Nautilus'
--- testcases/packages/1424_Nautilus	2016-03-26 20:16:39 +0000
+++ testcases/packages/1424_Nautilus	2024-05-25 11:55:28 +0000
@@ -144,8 +144,15 @@
         <dd>Are the USB drive contents displayed?</dd>
 </dl>
 This test will check that 'Open' dialog appears when plugging in a music device:
+<em>
+    To perform this test ensure that:
+    <ul>
+        <li>you have a USB drive available that contains music files</li>
+        <li>the system under test has available USB ports</li>
+        <li>the Removable Media settings are unchanged from default, and will 'Ask what to do' for all media types when inserted</li>
+    </ul>
+</em>
 <dl>
-    <dt> Please ensure you have a USB drive available that contains music files and system under test has available USB ports. In addition it is assumed the Removable Media settings are unchanged from default, and will 'Ask what to do' for all media types when inserted.</dt>
     <dt> Insert the player into the USB port of the system under tests and wait for new dialog to appear</dt>
         <dd>An 'Open' dialog window will appear offering you options.</dd> 
     <dt>Select the 'Rhythmbox Music Player' application, if not already selected</dt>