The use of software complexity metrics in software reliability modeling

Abstract

The central theme of the study is the creation of a suitable complexity measure for use in software reliability models. Factor analytic techniques are employed to reduce the dimensionality of the complexity problem space to produce a set of reduced metrics. The reduced metrics are subsequently combined into a single relative complexity measure. Program complexity varies dynamically as a function of inputs to the system. Hence, the notion of relative complexity is extended to a dynamic or functional complexity metric for use in proposed modifications to existing reliability models.<>