Software Reliability Assessment

Abstract

The quantitative evaluation of high software reliability measures (e.g. for safety-critical automatic control systems) still represents a serious challenge for both developers and assessors. The use of statistical sampling techniques is often doomed to failure due to the enormous testing effort it usually requires. In order to support the practicality of this well-founded approach by increasing its cost efficiency, the present article examines the potential of exploiting operational experience for the purpose of replacing prohibitively extensive testing phases and reports on a successful experience gained in the context of a real-world automotive application.