Author(s)

C.C. Michael

Abstract

Many statistical methods for estimating software quality rely on representative testing: they assume a program is tested in an environment that simulates the one where it will be used" But often, a software tester's aim is to uncover defects as soon as possible, and representative testing may not be the best way to do this. Instead, tests are often selected according to some plan that is believed to result in an efficient but thorough examination of the software's behavior. This raises the question of how practical measurements of software quality, like software probability - of-failure, can be obtained from directed testing. This paper addresses that question. The emphasis is on the use of process information when evaluating the results of directed testing: it will be argued that such information must be used in

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