ELS algorithm for estimating open source software reliability with masked data considering both fault detection and correction processes

Abstract

Masked data are the system failure data when the exact cause of the failures might be unknown. That is, the cause of the system failures may be any one of the components. Additionally, to incorporate more information and provide more accurate analysis, modeling software fault detection and correction processes have attracted widespread research attention recently. However, stochastic fault correction time and masked data brings more difficulties in parameter estimation. In this paper, a framework of open source software growth reliability model with masked data considering both fault detection and correction processes is proposed. Furthermore, a novel Expectation Least Squares (ELS) method, an EM-like (Expectation Maximization) algorithm, is used to solve the problem of parameter estimation, because of its mathematical convenience and computational efficiency. It is note that the ELS procedure is easy to use and useful for practical applications, and it just needs more relaxed hidden assumptions. Finally, three data sets from real open source software project are applied to the proposed framework, and the results show that the proposed reliability model is useful and powerful.

Keywords:

• Masked data
• fault detection process
• fault correction process
• open source software reliability
• expectation least squares

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the editor and anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments, encouragement, and suggestions.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 71901078) and Science and Technology Foundation of Guizhou, China (No. Qian KeHeJZi[2015]2064).