Managing Test-Procedures to Achieve Reliable Software

Quantitative decision-making procedures are proposed to aid software project managers to manage effectively the testing stage during software project development. The module and integration testing phases are thoroughly investigated. Decision procedures which maximize the reliability and/or minimize some cost-benefit objective subject to a time and/or budget constraint are suggested. These procedures optimally allocate test time to the modules for module testing and select the optimal data mixture for integration testing. Testing of computer software is a major component of the software development effort. An efficient allocation of computer time among various modules during testing can appreciably improve reliability and shorten the testing stage. Using decision models presented in this paper, a project manager can effectively allocate test time during module testing and select the best data mixture for integration testing. The models are based upon software failure data that are collected during testing. These decision models can be valuable not only for the project manager but for the group responsible for generating the appropriate test data.