Software reliability and maintainability in large-scale systems

This paper examines the subject of reliability and maintainability from a global prospective as it pertains to the production of a large-scale, real-time, integrated weapon system. The lessons learned in the production of a system engineering development model are described. The possible confusion over the source of inadequacies - whether hardware, software, or design - is reviewed. Some techniques for making programs more insensitive to environmental changes are discussed, along with the factors controlling the probability that a new set of conditions will be successfully processed by the software. The role of maintainability in the software development process is discussed, and its relationship to reliability is reviewed.