Abstract: A method for assessing how long continuously operating software systems can be expected to remain executing in a safe and/or reliable manner before anomalous conditions will ultimately lead to failure. For safety-critical applications the method can provide a safe upper bound on the time between rebooting. Also disclosed is an empirical technique for determining which portions of the state, if corrupted create the greatest risks to safe and/or reliable continual execution of the software. Armed with this information, developers, testers, and certifiers can create justifiable plans for the frequency with which the software should be rebooted. Further, they can customize and embed internal self-tests into those portions of the state found to have the greatest risks to safe and/or reliable, continual execution of the software.

Abstract: A method and method that builds accurate operational profiles for COTS software. The systems and methods disclosed allow software vendors to detect misused and unused features; identify common machine configurations for a given piece of software or software component; monitor changing user habits as new software version are released; derive more accurate testing methods for in-house testing purposes; and create user manuals which focus on those features most frequently used, or misused, by users. The disclosed system and method provides the tools enabling a software certification laboratory (SCL) to gather detailed usage data and failure data for a software application as it is used in the field. With this data the SCL can confidently issue certificates of reliability for software products.