Covering arrays are used in testing deterministic systems where failures occur as a result of interactions among components or subsystems. The design goal is to reveal if any interaction induces a failure in the system. Application areas include software, circuit, and network design.
Since the tests are deterministic, the emphasis driving the design is the need to cover all required interactions. The Covering Arrays platform constructs highly efficient covering arrays. You can also exclude factor level combinations that are not feasible for your testing protocol.
Figure 21.1 Strength 3 Covering Array