A Solvable Stochastic Model of Debugging

Abstract:

Stochastic processes model immature software processes. The model of an
isolated debugger following the "Hacker Ethic" is presented. It is a
Binomial Queue and easily solved. The distribution of defective parts
follows. The expected quality of the code depends on
diagnostic  and fixing skills not the length of time spent hacking or the
initial quality. Several different processes (extreme programming,
open-source,  clean-room,  . . . ) are shown to tackle the problems with
this approach to software development.