Estimation of Software Reliability Growth Model Parameters

Software reliability growth models only become useful if it is possible to estimate their parameters. However, the parameter estimation is normally done numerically, and hence a substantial amount of data is all too often needed. This need is often not fulfilled by modern development processes, for example incremental development and agile methods. This position paper identifies three alternative ways of estimating the parameters in the models. Data from a case study of two software releases is used to illustrate how one parameter can be estimated from historical data. Thus, alternative ways of estimating the model parameters may be one way of making the models useful in modern development practices.