Fuzzy optimization approach to component selection of fault-tolerant software system

Abstract

In developing software systems, a manager’s goal is to design software using limited resources and meet the user requirements. One of the important user requirements concerns the reliability of the software. The decision to choose the right software modules (components) becomes extremely difficult because of the number of parameters to be considered while making the decision. If suitable components are not available, then the decision process is further complicated with build versus buy decisions. In this paper, we have formulated a fuzzy multi-objective approach to optimal decision “build-or-buy” for component selection for a fault-tolerant modular software system under the consensus recovery block scheme. A joint optimization model is formulated where the two objectives are maximization of system reliability and minimization of the system cost with a constraint on delivery time. An example of developing a retail system for small-and-medium-size enterprises is used to illustrate the proposed methodology.