Models of Software Reliability

There are two types of software reliability model: time domain models and data domain models. Time domain models provide survival functions or hazard functions of time, which depend on parameters that have to be estimated. Data domain models are not time-dependent models, but sampling models from finite populations that provide estimates of the number of faults or other type of units in the software. This chapter presents examples of these models and their applications. This includes a relatively simple time domain model, indicates current trends with non-homogeneous models. The chapter provides the formulation and properties of estimates in these models. The chapter describes two sequential procedures, published by Chernoff and Ray and by Zacks, Pereira, and Leite: Chernoff–Ray Procedure; and Capture–Recapture Method.