An approach for software reliability model selection

Software reliability models are used for the estimation and prediction of software reliability. Selection of a software reliability model for use in a particular case has been an area of interest for researchers in the field of software reliability. Tools and techniques for software reliability model selection found in the literature cannot be used with a high level of confidence as they use a limited number of model selection criteria. In this paper, we have classified software reliability models according to software development life cycle (SDLC) phases. We have identified and defined a number of criteria (with importance level) for software reliability model selection. We have proposed an algorithm based on these criteria for the selection of software reliability models along with an example. This algorithm can be used in different phases of SDLC and applies to various classes of software reliability models.