Needed resources for software module test, using the hyper-geometric software reliability growth model

Abstract

Considerable testing resources are required during software module testing. This paper, based on the 'hyper-geometric distribution software reliability growth model' (HGDM) investigates two optimal resource allocation (OPT/RA) problems in software module testing: (1) minimization of the number of software faults (NSF) still undetected in the system after testing, given a fixed amount of testing resources; and (2) minimization of the total amount of testing resources required, given the NSF still undetected in the system after testing. Based on the concepts of average allocation and proportional allocation, two simple allocation methods are introduced. Experimental results show that the OPT/RA method can improve the quality and reliability of the software system much more than the simple allocation methods. Therefore, the OPT/RA method is very efficient for solving the 'testing resource allocation' problem.