A system of printing devices installs an upgrade version of firmware for the devices on a limited number of devices before doing a total installation. The number of the limited devices for analyzing the upgrade firmware is determined based on the failure rate of the devices. A ratio of failure is determined that is scaled by a factor to obtain the number of test devices. An analytical time interval also is determined to test the upgrade firmware on the limited number of devices. The failure rate within the limited number of devices is monitored to determine whether to upgrade all of the applicable devices.