Predicting residual software fault content and their location during multi-phase functional testing using test coverage

Multi-phase functional testing is a common practice which is used in ultra-reliable software development to ensure that no known faults reside in the software to be delivered. In this paper, we present a new test coverage-based model which allows the description of software systems developed through multiple phases of functional testing. This model is further extended: (a) to take advantage of auxiliary observations collected during the multi-phase testing and consequent analysis process to refine the predictions made; (b) to describe software systems where either the initial fault distribution is non-uniform with respect to location, or the repair and test and detection process favour certain locations.