Choosing a Testing Method to Deliver Reliability

By Lorenzo Strigini, P. Frankl, D. Hamlet, and B. Littlewood; 19th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE'97)

ABSTRACT
Testing methods are compared in a model where pro- gram failures are detected and the software changed to eliminate them. The question considered is whether it is better to use tests that seek out failures (\debug test- ing") or to simulate usage and nd failures along the way (\operational testing"). \Better" is measured by the delivered reliability obtained after all test failures have been eliminated. This comparison extends previ- ous work, where the measure was the probability of de- tecting a failure. The theoretical treatment of the paper is probabilistic and analytical. Revealing special cases are exhibited in which each kind of testing is superior.

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