Effects of field service on software reliability

The reliability of a program, when many copies are run in a multisite environment with the support of a software service organization, depends on the inherent reliability of the program and certain characteristics of the service organization. Here, a small number of parameters that determine the relevant characteristics of the service organization are identified, and their effects on the reliability of the program as it is experienced at an average site are analyzed. This is done with two software reliability models, a first (defect) discovery model and a total (defect) discovery model