CSOP+RP: a novel constraints satisfaction model for requirements prioritization in large-scale software systems

Authors: SOHEIL AFRAZ, HASSAN RASHIDI, NASER MIKAEILVAND

Abstract: One of the main factors in the failure of software projects is the lack of attention to their requirements prioritization. In this paper, we propose a decision-oriented methodology with a novel model for requirements prioritization (RP) in large-scale software systems. The model is formulated based on the constraint satisfaction optimization problems (CSOP) approach, which we call CSOP+RP. The main objective of the model is to maximize the quality of the software in total, subject to the constraints on the budgets and importance level that pre-determined by the administrator. To evaluate CSOP+RP, we applied it to the police command-and-control system (PCCS), which is extensively used during the outbreak of the Coronavirus disease as an incident in terms of quality and speed of service. The results of various experiments show that the proposed model with its specific capabilities can find reasonable and a solution near optimal. Moreover, the sensitivity analysis indicates that the model is very sensitive to its parameters. Although, we applied the model to CCPS, the CSOP+RP is very general so that it can be applied to different types of software projects. Additionally, the model could be extended to other aspects and criteria of the RP problem and could play definite roles for optimal management of system resources.

Keywords: Constraints satisfaction optimization problem (CSOP), decision-oriented methodology, general-model, requirements prioritization, ultra-large-scale system (ULSS)

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