Development of automated testing frameworks for continuous integration in banking software development

Posted: Mar 07, 2024

• Grace Nguyen
• Grace Thompson
• Harper Clark

Abstract

The evolution of banking software development has accelerated dramatically with the advent of digital banking, mobile payment systems, and real-time transaction processing. Continuous integration (CI) practices have become essential for maintaining software quality and rapid deployment cycles in this dynamic environment. However, the application of automated testing within CI pipelines for banking systems faces distinctive challenges that differentiate it from conventional software testing paradigms. Banking software operates within a tightly regulated ecosystem where errors can have severe financial consequences and compliance implications. The complexity of financial transactions, security requirements, and regulatory mandates necessitates testing approaches that go beyond traditional unit and integration testing methodologies. This research addresses the critical gap in automated testing frameworks specifically designed for banking software development. Current testing approaches often treat banking applications as conventional enterprise software, overlooking the unique characteristics of financial systems. These include the need for transaction atomicity verification, regulatory compliance validation, security vulnerability assessment, and performance testing under realistic banking workloads. The consequences of inadequate testing in this domain extend beyond software bugs to include financial losses, regulatory penalties, and erosion of customer trust. Our work introduces a novel hybrid testing framework that combines symbolic execution techniques with machine learning-driven test optimization specifically tailored for banking software environments. The framework addresses the fundamental challenge of balancing comprehensive test coverage with practical CI cycle durations, while ensuring that critical banking functionalities receive appropriate testing priority. By integrating domain-specific testing components for financial rule validation and security compliance checking, our approach provides a comprehensive solution that acknowledges the unique requirements of banking software development.