December 5-7, 1972, Fall Joint Computer ConferenceThe increase in importance of software in command and control and other complex systems has not been accompanied by commensurate progress in the develop- ment of analytical techniques for the measurement of software quality and the prediction of software reliability. This paper presents a rationale for imple- menting software reliability programs; defines software reliability; and describes some of the problems of performing software reliability analysis. A software reliability program is outlined and a methodology for reliability prediction and quality control is presented. The results of initial efforts to develop a software reliability methodology at the Naval Electronics Laboratory Center are reported
