Optimal Software Release Policies for Imperfect Debugging Models with Increasing Error Correction Rate

摘要

This paper considers a software reliability model which allows for two types of imperfect debuggings at each failure of the software system. For one type of imperfect debugging, the fault that causes the failure is imperfectly debugged without changing the fault contents of the software system. For the other type of imperfect debugging, the fault is not only imperfectly debugged, but also a new fault is generated and introduced to the system. The probability of perfect debugging is assumed to be an increasing function of the number of repairs performed prior to the failure of the system. The mean value function is derived under this model and the unknown parameters for the model are estimated by using the maximum likelihood method. Based on the software reliability model presented, we develop a cost model and determine the optimal software release policies, minimizing the expected software cost and satisfying the software reliability requirements. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the results obtained in the text.