SOFTWARE-RELIABILITY ALLOCATION BASED ON STRUCTURE, UTILITY, PRICE, AND COST

In this paper, we develop a reliability allocation model. This model determines how reliable software modules and programs must be to maximize the user's utility, while taking into account the financial and technical constraints of the system. Our model provides a unified approach in which the user's requirements and preferences are formally integrated with the technical structure of the software and its module and program reliabilities. This model determines reliability goals at the planning and design stages of the software project, hence making reliability a singular measure for performance evaluation and project control.