Basis path testing is a white-box technique. It allows the design and definition of a basis set of execution paths. The test cases created from the basis set allow the program to be executed in such a way as to examine each possible path through the program by executing each statement at least once.

To be able to determine the different program paths, the engineer needs a representation of the logical flow of control. The control structure can be illustrated by a flow graph. A flow graph can be used to represent any procedural design.

Next a metric can be used to determine the number of independent paths. It is called cyclomatic complexity and it provides the number of test cases that have to be designed. This insures coverage of all program statements.