Software cost model for quantifying the gain with considerations of random field environments

In this paper, we present a software gain model under random field environment with consideration of not only time to remove faults during in-house testing, cost of removing faults during beta testing, risk cost due to software failure, but also the benefits from reliable executions of the software during the beta testing and field operation. To our knowledge, this is the first study that incorporates the random field environmental factor into the cost model. We also provide an optimal release policy in which the net gain of the software development process is maximized. This gain model can help managers and developers to determine when to stop testing the software and release it to beta testing users and to end-users.