Evaluating Reliability of a Software Module Using Development Life Cycle

A method for evaluating reliability of a first software module, comprising:

• recording in a data processing system a state in a software module development life cycle of said first software module;
• using data arising from at least one of:
• (a) development activity with respect to said first software module, and (b) field event data with respect to said first software module, to automatically derive, using said data processing system, at least one coefficient of a mathematical model projecting software reliability as a function of time in a software module development life cycle of said first software module;
• using said state in a software module development life cycle of said first software module and said mathematical model projecting software reliability as a function of time in a software module development life cycle of said first software module to automatically determine, with said data processing system, a reliability of said first software module corresponding to at least one of (a) a current state in a software module development life cycle of said first software module;
• or (b) a future state in a software module development life cycle of said first software module;
• and
• providing results of said using said state in a software module development life cycle of said first software module and said mathematical model projecting software reliability as a function of time in a software module development life cycle of said first software module to automatically determine a reliability of said first software module to a user.

A method for evaluating reliability of a first software module, comprising:

• recording in a data processing system version identifying information indicating a first version of said first software module for which reliability is to be evaluated;
• recording in said data processing system data with respect to a plurality of failure events occurring with respect to said first software module;
• automatically identifying, with said data processing system, a first non-empty subset of said plurality of failure events in which failure is due to a defect in said first software module which has been corrected in said first version of said first software module, and a second non-empty subset of said plurality of failure events in which failure is not due to a defect in said first software module which has been corrected in said first version of said first software module;
• using said second non-empty subset but not said first non-empty subset to automatically determine, with said data processing system, a reliability of said first version of said first software module;
• and
• providing results of said using said second non-empty subset but not said first non-empty subset to automatically determine, with said data processing system, a reliability of said first version of said first software module to a user.