Quantifying the Influences of Imperfect Debugging on Software Development Using Simulation Approach

Practical experiences indicate that imperfect debugging actually exists in software development. In addition to inherent faults, additional faults may be introduced into software system during debugging process. Therefore, the debugging team should be staffed with more personnel to fix the introduced faults and ensure the quality of software system. To address this problem, we apply G/G/m queueing model to describe debugging behavior under imperfect debugging environment. Based on the proposed simulation framework, we investigate the influences of imperfect debugging on staffing needs. The application of the proposed framework will be illustrated through a real data set. From the simulation results, project managers can be aware of the relationship between the staffing needs and the degree of imperfect debugging.