diff --git a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/AbstractMojoTestCase.java b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/AbstractMojoTestCase.java
index 7296c01..c38e852 100644
--- a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/AbstractMojoTestCase.java
+++ b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/AbstractMojoTestCase.java
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@
 
 import java.io.BufferedReader;
 import java.io.File;
-import java.io.FileInputStream;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.InputStream;
 import java.io.Reader;
@@ -29,6 +28,7 @@
 import java.lang.reflect.Field;
 import java.net.MalformedURLException;
 import java.net.URL;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.HashMap;
@@ -162,6 +162,7 @@ protected void setUp()
     
             artifact.setFile( getPluginArtifactFile() );
             pluginDescriptor.setPluginArtifact( artifact );
+            //noinspection ArraysAsListWithZeroOrOneArgument
             pluginDescriptor.setArtifacts( Arrays.asList( artifact ) );
     
             for ( ComponentDescriptor<?> desc : pluginDescriptor.getComponents() )
@@ -237,7 +238,7 @@ else if ( "jar".equalsIgnoreCase( resource.getProtocol() ) )
     protected InputStream getPublicDescriptorStream()
         throws Exception
     {
-        return new FileInputStream( new File( getPluginDescriptorPath() ) );
+        return Files.newInputStream( new File( getPluginDescriptorPath() ).toPath() );
     }
 
     protected String getPluginDescriptorPath()
@@ -258,7 +259,7 @@ protected void setupContainer()
         {
             List<Module> modules = new ArrayList<>();
             addGuiceModules( modules );
-            container = new DefaultPlexusContainer( cc, modules.toArray( new Module[modules.size()] ) );
+            container = new DefaultPlexusContainer( cc, modules.toArray( new Module[0] ) );
         }
         catch ( PlexusContainerException e )
         {
@@ -270,6 +271,7 @@ protected void setupContainer()
     /**
      * @since 3.0.0
      */
+    @SuppressWarnings( "EmptyMethod" )
     protected void addGuiceModules( List<Module> modules )
     {
         // no custom guice modules by default
@@ -277,15 +279,11 @@ protected void addGuiceModules( List<Module> modules )
 
     protected ContainerConfiguration setupContainerConfiguration()
     {
-        ClassWorld classWorld = new ClassWorld( "plexus.core", Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader() );
-
-        ContainerConfiguration cc = new DefaultContainerConfiguration()
-          .setClassWorld( classWorld )
+        return new DefaultContainerConfiguration()
+          .setClassWorld( new ClassWorld( "plexus.core", Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader() ) )
           .setClassPathScanning( PlexusConstants.SCANNING_INDEX )
           .setAutoWiring( true )
-          .setName( "maven" );      
-
-        return cc;
+          .setName( "maven" );
     }
     
     @Override
@@ -498,6 +496,7 @@ protected MavenSession newMavenSession( MavenProject project )
 
         MavenSession session = new MavenSession( container, MavenRepositorySystemUtils.newSession(), request, result );
         session.setCurrentProject( project );
+        //noinspection ArraysAsListWithZeroOrOneArgument
         session.setProjects( Arrays.asList( project ) );
         return session;
     }
diff --git a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ArtifactStubFactory.java b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ArtifactStubFactory.java
index 73bc8ee..618d36f 100644
--- a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ArtifactStubFactory.java
+++ b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ArtifactStubFactory.java
@@ -316,7 +316,7 @@ public void createUnpackableFile( Artifact artifact, File destFile )
             WarArchiver war = (WarArchiver) archiver;
             // the use of this is counter-intuitive:
             // http://jira.codehaus.org/browse/PLX-286
-            war.setIgnoreWebxml( false );
+            war.setExpectWebXml( false );
         }
         archiver.createArchive();
     }
@@ -549,7 +549,7 @@ public static void setVariableValueToObject( Object object, String variable, Obj
      */
     public static String getFormattedFileName( Artifact artifact, boolean removeVersion )
     {
-        String destFileName = null;
+        String destFileName;
 
         // if there is a file and we aren't stripping the version, just get the
         // name directly
@@ -560,7 +560,7 @@ public static String getFormattedFileName( Artifact artifact, boolean removeVers
         else
         // if offline
         {
-            String versionString = null;
+            String versionString;
             if ( !removeVersion )
             {
                 versionString = "-" + artifact.getVersion();
diff --git a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/MojoRule.java b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/MojoRule.java
index c54ba97..2fef3db 100644
--- a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/MojoRule.java
+++ b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/MojoRule.java
@@ -87,7 +87,8 @@ protected void before() throws Throwable
     /**
      * May be overridden in the implementation to do stuff after the current test was run.
      */
-    protected void after() 
+    @SuppressWarnings( "EmptyMethod" )
+    protected void after()
     {
         
     }
diff --git a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ResolverExpressionEvaluatorStub.java b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ResolverExpressionEvaluatorStub.java
index 5192d4b..36af4aa 100644
--- a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ResolverExpressionEvaluatorStub.java
+++ b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ResolverExpressionEvaluatorStub.java
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ public Object evaluate( String expr )
             }
 
             // Was not an expression
-            if ( expression.indexOf( "$$" ) > -1 )
+            if ( expression.contains( "$$" ) )
             {
                 return expression.replaceAll( "\\$\\$", "\\$" );
             }
diff --git a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/resources/TestResources.java b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/resources/TestResources.java
index d28591e..b183c3e 100644
--- a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/resources/TestResources.java
+++ b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/resources/TestResources.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.TreeSet;
@@ -116,11 +117,7 @@ public static void assertDirectoryContents( File dir, String... expectedPaths )
         scanner.addDefaultExcludes();
         scanner.scan();
 
-        Set<String> actual = new TreeSet<>();
-        for ( String path : scanner.getIncludedFiles() )
-        {
-            actual.add( path );
-        }
+        Set<String> actual = new TreeSet<>( Arrays.asList( scanner.getIncludedFiles() ) );
         for ( String path : scanner.getIncludedDirectories() )
         {
             if ( path.length() > 0 )
@@ -132,10 +129,7 @@ public static void assertDirectoryContents( File dir, String... expectedPaths )
         Set<String> expected = new TreeSet<>();
         if ( expectedPaths != null )
         {
-            for ( String path : expectedPaths )
-            {
-                expected.add( path );
-            }
+            expected.addAll( Arrays.asList( expectedPaths ) );
         }
 
         // compare textual representation to make diff easier to understand
diff --git a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/stubs/ArtifactStub.java b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/stubs/ArtifactStub.java
index 63f15c5..33b7dba 100644
--- a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/stubs/ArtifactStub.java
+++ b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/stubs/ArtifactStub.java
@@ -185,14 +185,7 @@ public String getId()
     @Override
     public String getDependencyConflictId()
     {
-        StringBuffer buffer = new StringBuffer();
-
-        buffer.append( getGroupId() );
-        buffer.append( ":" ).append( getArtifactId() );
-        buffer.append( ":" ).append( getType() );
-        buffer.append( ":" ).append( getClassifier() );
-
-        return buffer.toString();
+        return getGroupId() + ":" + getArtifactId() + ":" + getType() + ":" + getClassifier();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -200,6 +193,7 @@ public String getDependencyConflictId()
      *
      * @see org.apache.maven.artifact.Artifact#addMetadata(org.apache.maven.artifact.metadata.ArtifactMetadata)
      */
+    @SuppressWarnings( "deprecation" )
     @Override
     public void addMetadata( ArtifactMetadata artifactMetadata )
     {
@@ -210,6 +204,7 @@ public void addMetadata( ArtifactMetadata artifactMetadata )
      * @return <code>null</code>.
      * @see org.apache.maven.artifact.Artifact#getMetadataList()
      */
+    @SuppressWarnings( "deprecation" )
     @Override
     public Collection<ArtifactMetadata> getMetadataList()
     {
@@ -549,6 +544,7 @@ public boolean isFromAuthoritativeRepository()
         return true;
     }
 
+    @SuppressWarnings( "EmptyMethod" )
     public void setFromAuthoritativeRepository( boolean fromAuthoritativeRepository )
     {
         // nothing
diff --git a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/stubs/MavenProjectStub.java b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/stubs/MavenProjectStub.java
index aacb6e7..4b81e85 100644
--- a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/stubs/MavenProjectStub.java
+++ b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/stubs/MavenProjectStub.java
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@
  *
  * @author jesse
  */
+@SuppressWarnings( "FieldCanBeLocal" )
 public class MavenProjectStub
     extends MavenProject
 {
@@ -282,19 +283,14 @@ public void setRemoteArtifactRepositories( List<ArtifactRepository> list )
     @Override
     public List<ArtifactRepository> getRemoteArtifactRepositories()
     {
-        return Collections.<ArtifactRepository>emptyList();
+        return Collections.emptyList();
     }
 
     /** {@inheritDoc} */
     @Override
     public boolean hasParent()
     {
-        if ( parent != null )
-        {
-            return true;
-        }
-
-        return false;
+        return parent != null;
     }
 
     /** {@inheritDoc} */
@@ -337,7 +333,7 @@ public void setDependencies( List<Dependency> list )
     @Override
     public List<Dependency> getDependencies()
     {
-        return Collections.<Dependency>emptyList();
+        return Collections.emptyList();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -960,7 +956,7 @@ public void setMailingLists( List<MailingList> list )
     @Override
     public List<MailingList> getMailingLists()
     {
-        return Collections.<MailingList>emptyList();
+        return Collections.emptyList();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -993,7 +989,7 @@ public void setDevelopers( List<Developer> list )
     @Override
     public List<Developer> getDevelopers()
     {
-        return Collections.<Developer>emptyList();
+        return Collections.emptyList();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1026,7 +1022,7 @@ public void setContributors( List<Contributor> list )
     @Override
     public List<Contributor> getContributors()
     {
-        return Collections.<Contributor>emptyList();
+        return Collections.emptyList();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1062,7 +1058,7 @@ public Build getBuild()
     @Override
     public List<Resource> getResources()
     {
-        return Collections.<Resource>emptyList();
+        return Collections.emptyList();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1073,7 +1069,7 @@ public List<Resource> getResources()
     @Override
     public List<Resource> getTestResources()
     {
-        return Collections.<Resource>emptyList();
+        return Collections.emptyList();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1164,7 +1160,7 @@ public void setArtifacts( Set<Artifact> set )
     @Override
     public Set<Artifact> getArtifacts()
     {
-        return Collections.<Artifact>emptySet();
+        return Collections.emptySet();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1175,7 +1171,7 @@ public Set<Artifact> getArtifacts()
     @Override
     public Map<String, Artifact> getArtifactMap()
     {
-        return Collections.<String, Artifact>emptyMap();
+        return Collections.emptyMap();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1197,7 +1193,7 @@ public void setPluginArtifacts( Set<Artifact> set )
     @Override
     public Set<Artifact> getPluginArtifacts()
     {
-        return Collections.<Artifact>emptySet();
+        return Collections.emptySet();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1208,7 +1204,7 @@ public Set<Artifact> getPluginArtifacts()
     @Override
     public Map<String, Artifact> getPluginArtifactMap()
     {
-        return Collections.<String, Artifact>emptyMap();
+        return Collections.emptyMap();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1230,7 +1226,7 @@ public void setReportArtifacts( Set<Artifact> set )
     @Override
     public Set<Artifact> getReportArtifacts()
     {
-        return Collections.<Artifact>emptySet();
+        return Collections.emptySet();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1241,7 +1237,7 @@ public Set<Artifact> getReportArtifacts()
     @Override
     public Map<String, Artifact> getReportArtifactMap()
     {
-        return Collections.<String, Artifact>emptyMap();
+        return Collections.emptyMap();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1263,7 +1259,7 @@ public void setExtensionArtifacts( Set<Artifact> set )
     @Override
     public Set<Artifact> getExtensionArtifacts()
     {
-        return Collections.<Artifact>emptySet();
+        return Collections.emptySet();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1274,7 +1270,7 @@ public Set<Artifact> getExtensionArtifacts()
     @Override
     public Map<String, Artifact> getExtensionArtifactMap()
     {
-        return Collections.<String, Artifact>emptyMap();
+        return Collections.emptyMap();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1307,7 +1303,7 @@ public Artifact getParentArtifact()
     @Override
     public List<Repository> getRepositories()
     {
-        return Collections.<Repository>emptyList();
+        return Collections.emptyList();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1318,7 +1314,7 @@ public List<Repository> getRepositories()
     @Override
     public List<ReportPlugin> getReportPlugins()
     {
-        return Collections.<ReportPlugin>emptyList();
+        return Collections.emptyList();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1329,7 +1325,7 @@ public List<ReportPlugin> getReportPlugins()
     @Override
     public List<Plugin> getBuildPlugins()
     {
-        return Collections.<Plugin>emptyList();
+        return Collections.emptyList();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1340,7 +1336,7 @@ public List<Plugin> getBuildPlugins()
     @Override
     public List<String> getModules()
     {
-        return Collections.<String>emptyList();
+        return Collections.emptyList();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1357,6 +1353,7 @@ public PluginManagement getPluginManagement()
     /**
      * By default, do nothing.
      */
+    @SuppressWarnings( "EmptyMethod" )
     public void addPlugin( Plugin plugin )
     {
         // nop
@@ -1367,6 +1364,7 @@ public void addPlugin( Plugin plugin )
      *
      * @param plugin
      */
+    @SuppressWarnings( "EmptyMethod" )
     public void injectPluginManagementInfo( Plugin plugin )
     {
         // nop
@@ -1419,7 +1417,7 @@ public ArtifactRepository getDistributionManagementArtifactRepository()
     @Override
     public List<Repository> getPluginRepositories()
     {
-        return Collections.<Repository>emptyList();
+        return Collections.emptyList();
     }
 
     /** {@inheritDoc} */
@@ -1575,7 +1573,7 @@ public Model getOriginalModel()
     @Override
     public List<Extension> getBuildExtensions()
     {
-        return Collections.<Extension>emptyList();
+        return Collections.emptyList();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1587,7 +1585,7 @@ public List<Extension> getBuildExtensions()
     public Set<Artifact> createArtifacts( ArtifactFactory artifactFactory, String string,
                                           ArtifactFilter artifactFilter )
     {
-        return Collections.<Artifact>emptySet();
+        return Collections.emptySet();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1631,7 +1629,7 @@ public Properties getProperties()
     @Override
     public List<String> getFilters()
     {
-        return Collections.<String>emptyList();
+        return Collections.emptyList();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1642,7 +1640,7 @@ public List<String> getFilters()
     @Override
     public Map<String, MavenProject> getProjectReferences()
     {
-        return Collections.<String, MavenProject>emptyMap();
+        return Collections.emptyMap();
     }
 
     /** {@inheritDoc} */
diff --git a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/stubs/StubArtifactRepository.java b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/stubs/StubArtifactRepository.java
index 0d63904..65995c8 100644
--- a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/stubs/StubArtifactRepository.java
+++ b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/stubs/StubArtifactRepository.java
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
 public class StubArtifactRepository
     implements ArtifactRepository
 {
-    private String baseDir = null;
+    private final String baseDir;
 
     /**
      * Default constructor
diff --git a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/stubs/StubArtifactResolver.java b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/stubs/StubArtifactResolver.java
index b9ea73a..f950b58 100644
--- a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/stubs/StubArtifactResolver.java
+++ b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/stubs/StubArtifactResolver.java
@@ -45,11 +45,11 @@
 public class StubArtifactResolver
     implements ArtifactResolver
 {
-    private boolean throwArtifactResolutionException;
+    private final boolean throwArtifactResolutionException;
 
-    private boolean throwArtifactNotFoundException;
+    private final boolean throwArtifactNotFoundException;
 
-    private ArtifactStubFactory factory;
+    private final ArtifactStubFactory factory;
 
     /**
      * Default constructor
diff --git a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ArtifactStubFactoryTest.java b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ArtifactStubFactoryTest.java
index 75d7836..dfbd8ab 100644
--- a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ArtifactStubFactoryTest.java
+++ b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ArtifactStubFactoryTest.java
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ public void testVersionChecks() throws IOException
         assertFalse(factory.getSnapshotArtifact().isRelease());
     }
 
-    public void testCreateFiles() throws IOException
+    public void testCreateFiles()
     {
         ArtifactStubFactory factory = new ArtifactStubFactory();
         assertFalse(factory.isCreateFiles());
diff --git a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ExpressionEvaluatorMojo.java b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ExpressionEvaluatorMojo.java
index 2d4faa0..5f1f802 100644
--- a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ExpressionEvaluatorMojo.java
+++ b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ExpressionEvaluatorMojo.java
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@
 import org.apache.maven.artifact.repository.ArtifactRepository;
 import org.apache.maven.plugin.AbstractMojo;
 import org.apache.maven.plugin.MojoExecutionException;
-import org.apache.maven.plugin.MojoFailureException;
 import org.codehaus.plexus.util.StringUtils;
 
 /**
@@ -40,7 +39,7 @@ public class ExpressionEvaluatorMojo
     /** {@inheritDoc} */
     @Override
     public void execute()
-        throws MojoExecutionException, MojoFailureException
+        throws MojoExecutionException
     {
         if ( StringUtils.isEmpty( basedir ) )
         {
diff --git a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ExpressionEvaluatorTest.java b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ExpressionEvaluatorTest.java
index 3939bd2..e4666d5 100644
--- a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ExpressionEvaluatorTest.java
+++ b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/ExpressionEvaluatorTest.java
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@
 public class ExpressionEvaluatorTest
     extends AbstractMojoTestCase
 {
-    private Xpp3Dom pomDom;
 
     private PlexusConfiguration pluginConfiguration;
 
@@ -43,24 +42,22 @@ protected void setUp()
     {
         super.setUp();
 
-        StringBuffer pom = new StringBuffer();
+        String pom = "<project>" + "\n"
+                + "  <build>" + "\n"
+                + "    <plugins>" + "\n"
+                + "      <plugin>" + "\n"
+                + "        <artifactId>maven-test-mojo</artifactId>" + "\n"
+                + "        <configuration>" + "\n"
+                + "          <basedir>${basedir}</basedir>" + "\n"
+                + "          <workdir>${basedir}/workDirectory</workdir>" + "\n"
+                + "          <localRepository>${localRepository}</localRepository>" + "\n"
+                + "        </configuration>" + "\n"
+                + "      </plugin>" + "\n"
+                + "    </plugins>" + "\n"
+                + "  </build>" + "\n"
+                + "</project>" + "\n";
 
-        pom.append( "<project>" ).append( "\n" );
-        pom.append( "  <build>" ).append( "\n" );
-        pom.append( "    <plugins>" ).append( "\n" );
-        pom.append( "      <plugin>" ).append( "\n" );
-        pom.append( "        <artifactId>maven-test-mojo</artifactId>" ).append( "\n" );
-        pom.append( "        <configuration>" ).append( "\n" );
-        pom.append( "          <basedir>${basedir}</basedir>" ).append( "\n" );
-        pom.append( "          <workdir>${basedir}/workDirectory</workdir>" ).append( "\n" );
-        pom.append( "          <localRepository>${localRepository}</localRepository>" ).append( "\n" );
-        pom.append( "        </configuration>" ).append( "\n" );
-        pom.append( "      </plugin>" ).append( "\n" );
-        pom.append( "    </plugins>" ).append( "\n" );
-        pom.append( "  </build>" ).append( "\n" );
-        pom.append( "</project>" ).append( "\n" );
-
-        pomDom = Xpp3DomBuilder.build( new StringReader( pom.toString() ) );
+        Xpp3Dom pomDom = Xpp3DomBuilder.build( new StringReader( pom ) );
 
         pluginConfiguration = extractPluginConfiguration( "maven-test-mojo", pomDom );
     }
diff --git a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/MojoRuleTest.java b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/MojoRuleTest.java
index d5f3075..8a11b8e 100644
--- a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/MojoRuleTest.java
+++ b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/MojoRuleTest.java
@@ -40,18 +40,14 @@ public class MojoRuleTest
     private boolean beforeWasCalled = false;
 
     @Rule
-    public MojoRule rule = new MojoRule() {
+    public final MojoRule rule = new MojoRule() {
 
         @Override
-        protected void before() throws Throwable 
+        protected void before()
         {
             beforeWasCalled = true;
         }      
     };
-    
-    private String pom;
-
-    private Xpp3Dom pomDom;
 
     private PlexusConfiguration pluginConfiguration;
 
@@ -61,8 +57,7 @@ public void setUp()
         throws Exception
     {
 
-        pom =
-            "<project>" +
+        String pom = "<project>" +
                 "<build>" +
                 "<plugins>" +
                 "<plugin>" +
@@ -76,17 +71,15 @@ public void setUp()
                 "</build>" +
                 "</project>";
 
-        pomDom = Xpp3DomBuilder.build( new StringReader( pom ) );
+        Xpp3Dom pomDom = Xpp3DomBuilder.build( new StringReader( pom ) );
 
         pluginConfiguration = rule.extractPluginConfiguration( "maven-simple-plugin", pomDom );
     }
 
     /**
-     * @throws Exception if any
      */
     @Test
     public void testPluginConfigurationExtraction()
-        throws Exception
     {
         assertEquals( "valueOne", pluginConfiguration.getChild( "keyOne" ).getValue() );
 
@@ -163,14 +156,12 @@ public void testSettingMojoVariables()
     @Test
     @WithoutMojo
     public void testNoRuleWrapper()
-        throws Exception
     {
         assertFalse( "before executed although WithMojo annotation was added", beforeWasCalled );
     }
 
     @Test    
     public void testWithRuleWrapper()
-        throws Exception
     {
         assertTrue( "before executed because WithMojo annotation was not added", beforeWasCalled );
     }
diff --git a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/MojoTestCaseTest.java b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/MojoTestCaseTest.java
index c0364f3..6858175 100644
--- a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/MojoTestCaseTest.java
+++ b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/MojoTestCaseTest.java
@@ -32,9 +32,6 @@
 public class MojoTestCaseTest
     extends AbstractMojoTestCase
 {
-    private String pom;
-
-    private Xpp3Dom pomDom;
 
     private PlexusConfiguration pluginConfiguration;
 
@@ -45,8 +42,7 @@ protected void setUp()
     {
         super.setUp();
 
-        pom =
-            "<project>" +
+        String pom = "<project>" +
                 "<build>" +
                 "<plugins>" +
                 "<plugin>" +
@@ -60,16 +56,14 @@ protected void setUp()
                 "</build>" +
                 "</project>";
 
-        pomDom = Xpp3DomBuilder.build( new StringReader( pom ) );
+        Xpp3Dom pomDom = Xpp3DomBuilder.build( new StringReader( pom ) );
 
         pluginConfiguration = extractPluginConfiguration( "maven-simple-plugin", pomDom );
     }
 
     /**
-     * @throws Exception if any
      */
     public void testPluginConfigurationExtraction()
-        throws Exception
     {
         assertEquals( "valueOne", pluginConfiguration.getChild( "keyOne" ).getValue() );
 
diff --git a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/PluginArtifactFileTest.java b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/PluginArtifactFileTest.java
index c4f32be..3fb57c0 100644
--- a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/PluginArtifactFileTest.java
+++ b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/PluginArtifactFileTest.java
@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@ public class PluginArtifactFileTest
     private static final String FS = System.getProperty( "file.separator" );
     
     public void testArtifact()
-        throws Exception
     {
         MojoExecution execution = newMojoExecution( "parameters" ); // TODO dedicated test mojo
 
diff --git a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/SimpleMojo.java b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/SimpleMojo.java
index 85ea293..3d1bd10 100644
--- a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/SimpleMojo.java
+++ b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/SimpleMojo.java
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@
  */
 
 import org.apache.maven.plugin.AbstractMojo;
-import org.apache.maven.plugin.MojoExecutionException;
 
 /**
  * @author Jason van Zyl
@@ -44,7 +43,6 @@ public String getKeyTwo()
 
     @Override
     public void execute()
-        throws MojoExecutionException
     {
     }
 }
diff --git a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/TestSilentLog.java b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/TestSilentLog.java
index 4d782df..25135ac 100644
--- a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/TestSilentLog.java
+++ b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/TestSilentLog.java
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ public class TestSilentLog
     public void testLog()
     {
         Log log = new SilentLog();
-        String text = new String( "Text" );
+        String text = "Text";
         Throwable e = new RuntimeException();
         log.debug( text );
         log.debug( text, e );
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ public void testLog()
     public void testLogger()
     {
         Logger log = new SilentLog();
-        String text = new String( "Text" );
+        String text = "Text";
         Throwable e = new RuntimeException();
 
         log.debug( text );
diff --git a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/resources/TestResourcesTest.java b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/resources/TestResourcesTest.java
index c7a78e3..36c4b65 100644
--- a/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/resources/TestResourcesTest.java
+++ b/maven-plugin-testing-harness/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/testing/resources/TestResourcesTest.java
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 
 public class TestResourcesTest
 {
-    public TestResources resources = new TestResources();
+    public final TestResources resources = new TestResources();
 
     @Test( expected = IllegalStateException.class )
     public void testNoRuleAnnotation()
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index e2fa417..93851b2 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ under the License.
     <surefire.version>2.22.2</surefire.version>
     <mavenVersion>3.2.5</mavenVersion>
     <maven.site.path>plugin-testing-archives/LATEST</maven.site.path>
-    <javaVersion>7</javaVersion>
+    <javaVersion>8</javaVersion>
     <project.build.outputTimestamp>2020-04-07T21:04:00Z</project.build.outputTimestamp>
   </properties>