MCDM- Based Framework to Solve Decision Making Problems in Software Engineering

Abstract

A reliable decision-making system can help software engineers effectively to manage the software development process. A lot of decisions must be taken throughout the software development process, such as selecting design concepts and selecting alternative solutions. However, most of the decision-making problems encountered in software engineering are relevant to the multiple criteria which need to be considered simultaneously. Multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) has evolved as an efficient method in the software industry for integrating stakeholder values and technical information throughout software development. The contribution of this study is many folds. First, this study presents previous research contributions on applying MCDM methods in software engineering. Second, this work conducts a comparative study of numerous MCDM methods applied in software engineering and other prominent MCDM methods that might be used in software engineering. Third, this study proposes an MCDM based framework for solving various types of decision-making problems in software engineering. Fourth, this paper also presents some future research directions on applications of MCDM methods in software engineering.