Goals:
This course will introduce students to the concepts and problems of measuring and predicting software reliability. This will be done by examining in detail research papers written on the subject, deriving the equations needed by the models in these pa- pers, programming the models, and simulating data to exercise the programs. We will assess the differences between what is promised by these models and what is delvered as well as between what is possible and not possible in this area. A side benefit will be that students will develop the ability to read and digest technical papers including mathematics.
Prerequisites: Calculus, Probability and Statistics, Programming skills.
Format: One or two papers per week will be read, critiqued and discussed in class. The models encountered in the papers will be programmed. At the end of the course you will write a summary critique and you will be given several data sets to analyze using the previously coded models.
Topics include-Reliability Concepts, Several Models, Replicated Data, Fault Tolerance, Formal Proof of Correctness, Testing Strategies.