A Many-State Markov Model for Computer Software Performance Parameters

A many-state Markov model has been developed for the purpose of providing performance criteria for computer software. The model provides estimates and closed form predictions of the availability and of the most probable number of errors that will have been corrected at a given time in the operation of a large software package. The model is based on constant rates for error-occurrence ¿ and error cortection ¿. An interesting application case is when ¿ and ¿ are functions of the state of debugging achieved. This case is discussed and solved numerically. Extensions and modifications of the basic model are briefly discussed.