Cost Implications of Imperfect Repair in Software Reliability

The reliability of computer software is of prime importance for all developers of software. The complicated nature of detecting and removing faults from software has led to a plethora of models for reliability growth. One of the most basic of these is the Jelinski Moranda model, where it is assumed that there are N faults in the software, and that in testing, bugs (or faults) are encountered (and removed when defected) according to a stochastic process at a rate which at a given point in time is proportional to the number of bugs remaining in the system. In this research, we consider the possibility that imperfect repair may occur in any attempt to remove a detected bug in the Jelinski Moranda model. We let p represent the probability that a fault which is discovered or detected is actually perfectly repaired. The possibility that the probability p may differ before and after release of the software is also considered. The distribution of both the number of bugs detected and perfectly repaired in a given time period is studied. Cost models for the development and release of software are investigated, and the impact of the parameter p on the optimal release time minimizing expected costs is assessed.