EXPERT SYSTEM FOR SOFTWARE RELIABILITY ENGINEERING

THIS ADVANCED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EFFORT WILL PROVIDE AN INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR THE MANAGEMENT, DEVELOPMENT, AND ASSURANCE OF RELIABLE SOFTWARE. THE TECHNOLOGY WILL FOCUS ON THE SUPPORT OF RELIABILITY ENGINEERING DURING THE REQUIREMENTS AND DESIGN PHASES. THE RELIABILITY ANALYSES SUPPORTED BY THIS TECHNOLOGY WILL PROVIDE VALUABLE FEEDBACK TO GOVERNMENT AND CONTRACTOR MANAGERS, DEVELOPERS, AND ASSURANCE ENGINEERS. THE EMPHASIS OF THE FEEDBACK WILL BE ON HELPING TO IMPROVE THE "AS-BUILT" QUALITY OF THE SOFTWARE. TO PROVIDE EARLY FEEDBACK, AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH IS PROPOSED THAT APPLIES PROCESS METRICS DURING THE SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS PHASE, AND COMBINES THE USE OF BOTH PROCESS AND PRODUCT METRICS DURING THE DESIGN PHASE. THE EFFORT WILL GO BEYOND MERELY IDENTIFYING A SET OF RELIABILITY METRICS. A SUPPORTING METHOD WILL BE PROVIDED THAT INCLUDES: CONSIDERATION OF QUALITY GOALS/REQUIREMENTS; APPROACHES TO ACHIEVING THESE GOALS; AND FEEDBACK AND ADVICE. THE SUPPORTING METHOD ENSURES THAT THE RELIABILITY ENGINEERING EFFORT IS TARGETED TO THE NEEDS OF THE SPECIFIC APPLICATION. AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THE RESEARCH IS THE EMPHASIS ON PROVIDING AUTOMATED SUPPORT. THE RESEARCH EFFORT WILL PROTOTYPE A RELIABILITY ENGINEERING TOOL DEMONSTRATING THE AUTOMATION CONCEPT. THE PROTOTYPE TOOL WILL REUSE EXISTING QUALITY TOOLS, AND WILL INCORPORATE APPLICABLE EXPERT SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY.