A cost-reliability model for the optimal release time of a software system

In this paper, faults existing in a software system is classified into three types; simple, degenerative and regenerative faults. The reliability functions and failure rates of both a software module and system which have a mixture of such faults are obtained and the expected number of failures in the system after time T is also derived. Using the formulas obtained, a cost-reliability model and an efficient algorithm for optimal software release time are proposed via nonlinear programming formulation ; minimizing the total test cost with constraints on the failure rates of each module. Application of this model to several cases are presented and it appears to be more realistic.