SYSTEM COST ESTIMATING IN SOFTWARE PRODUCT LINES USING FEATURE-ORIENTED APPROACH
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15282/Keywords:
System cost estimation , Software Product Line, Domain analysis, Reuse, Feature-orientationAbstract
The feature business component of a software product line in its solution part shows services provided by that software product line in a feature model, which is an AND/OR graph. To be implemented, these services require Commercial Off-The-Shelf Products (COTS). Therefore, evaluating the cost of a system in a Software Product Line (SPL) is difficult because many COTS evolve in features at different levels of the feature model. Currently, several approaches have been proposed to evaluate software project costs, including algorithmic methods such as the Constructive Cost Model, Software Life-Cycle Management (SLIM), and Functional Point Analysis (FPA), as well as non-algorithmic methods such as Delphi, rule-based, and learning-based approaches. However, COTS components are independent of the project, and their costs are subject to change. In this study, we suggest a methodology and propose algorithms to approximate the cost of a product belonging to a given software product line, including the minimal and maximal costs. The novelty of this work lies in enriching feature business components by adding new knowledge during domain analysis, such as required COTS and their associated costs for each feature at different levels of the feature model. This enhanced model enables the development of algorithms for more effective system cost estimation.
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