Validation of a methodology for assessing software reliability

Software-based digital systems are progressively replacing analog systems in safety-critical applications. However the ability to predict their reliability is not well understood and needs further study. A first step towards systematic resolution of this issue was presented in a recent software engineering measure study. In that study a set of software engineering measures were ranked with respect to their ability in predicting software reliability through an expert opinion elicitation process. This study also proposed a concept of reliability prediction system (RePS) to bridge the gap between software engineering measures and software reliability. The research presented in this paper validates the rankings obtained and the concept of RePS proposed in the previous study.