Stochastic modeling, analysis and verification of mission-critical systems and processes

Software and business processes used in mission-critical defence applications are often characterised by stochastic behaviour. The causes for this behaviour range from unanticipated environmental changes and built-in random delays to component and communication protocol unreliability. This paper overviews the use of a stochastic modelling and analysis technique called quantitative verication to establish whether mission-critical software and business processes meet their reliability, performance and other quality-of-service requirements.