2015 9th Malaysian Software Engineering Conference, Dec.
2015
A Proposed Value-Based Software Process Tailoring
Framework
N oar Azura Zakaria
Department of Computer Science
International Islamic University Malaysia (HUM)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
azurazakaria@iium.edu.my
Abstract-Software process tailoring is the act of customising
the existing software process to suit the specific software project.
Current practices in software process tailoring consider project
characteristics as the sole input to tailor the software process. In
addition, it maintains the traditional approach whereby all the
project characteristics factors are treated as being equally
important. There is a need to shift the traditional software
process tailoring approach to a value-centric approach by using a
value-based software engineering concept. This study aims to
propose a value-based software process tailoring framework to
tailor the software process. A review was conducted to analyse
the components embedded and input factors in the selected prior
studies on software process tailoring. The framework proposed in
this study uses value-based factors as input factors to tailor the
software process. The framework also considers value
prioritisation component, which rank the process elements
according to value priority.
Keywords-vaLue-based software engineering; vaLue-based
factor; software process tailoring; software process
I. INTRODUCTION
Software process tailoring is one of the solutions used to
customise the existing software development process to be
used in new software projects. Current practices in software
process tailoring usually adopt an ad hoc approach that tends to
replicate old process from previous projects or use a process
that is familiar to the software development team. The value-
based software engineering (VBSE) concept brings the benefit
of maximising the value contribution to the software project
(e.g. budget, schedule and stakeholder satisfaction) as
compared to conventional software development approaches
that only focus on completing a project successfully. The
VBSE concept shifts the traditional approach in software
development to a more value-centric approach [I].
In software process tailoring, most ofthe existing studies in
the literature have used project context or characteristics as sole
input to tailor the software process [2]. This approach satisfies
the project context only and the tailoring practices are
maintained with value-neutral settings because all the project
factors are treated equally the same. There is a need to
integrate the VBSE concept in software process tailoring in
978-1-4673-8227-4/15/$31.00 ©2015 IEEE
Suhaimi Ibrahim, Mohd Naz' ri Mahrin
Advanced Informatics School (AIS)
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
suhaimiibrahim@utm.my, mnazrim@utm.my
order to produce a value-based tailored process in software
development [3].
This study aims to propose a value-based software process
tailoring (VBSPT) framework to be used to tailor software
process. A review of relevant existing studies in the software
process tailoring and VBSE domain are conducted prior to
propose the VBSPT framework.
The structure of this paper is organised as follows: Section
2 discusses the brief theoretical background of software
process tailoring and VBSE. Section 3 explains the review
process. The next section discusses the research works on
software process tailoring. The proposed VBSPT framework is
discussed in detail in Section 5. The final section presents the
discussion and conclusion of this study.
IT. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
A. Software Process Tailoring
The customisation of a software process is required for
instance, to add the stakeholder' s roles, remove some of the
less important activities and modifY the artefacts and
processes. Software process tailoring is defined as "the act of
adjusting the definition and! or particularizing the terms of a
general description to derive a description applicable to an
alternate (less g eneral) enviromnent"" [4]. Even though the
process reference model has developed the guidelines for
process tailoring, it is deemed too general or principal-based
and requires the organisation to make adjustments according
to the project's context. Xu and Ramesh [5] argue that the
guidelines given in the process reference model are not
sufficient to perform second-level tailoring which is tailoring
for the specific project.
Several studies have coined the tenll "one size could not fit
all" [6-8] which is synonymous with the software process
tailoring activity since each project is unique and complex.
The software process should be able to fit the needs of the
specific project based on the situational environment and
factors. Otherwise there is a risk of failure of the software
project [9]. Moreover, to construct the software process from
scratch is tedious work and invites risk to the project [10].
149
Even though software process tailoring is one of the
resolutions in selecting the most appropriate software process,
the task is not straightforward and requires intuition,
experience and knowledge to perform the activity [11, 12].
B. Value-Based Software Engineering (VBSE)
A number of earlier software engineering studies focused
on reducing costs. In other words, the focus was given to
economic concerns instead of increasing benefits or values.
Boehm and Sullivan [13] challenged this mindset and argued
that value-added should be incorporated in the software
engineering practices. In addition, any decisions made when
accomplishing software engineering activities should consider
value-added elements as well. An extended study was later
conducted by Boehm [14], he stressed that software
engineering practices should be changed to value-based rather
than value-neutral settings. This is because the former does
not take into account the benefits or value-added elements in
software engineering phases. Tn this study, Boehm [14]
suggested various value-oriented elements that could be
considered in the software engineering practices. They include
requirements engineering, architecting, design and
development, verification and validation, planning and
control, risk management, people management, quality
management and software engineering principles.
The value-neutral setting treats software development
practices, processes, products and actIvItIes such as
requirements, objects, use cases and others as equally
important that means they all carry equal weight [15-17]. This
is the motivation for studies such as [18-20] to conduct
research on requirements engineering by embedding the
prioritisation concept. The value or weightage is assigned in
the requirements for the purpose of prioritisation before
decisions can be made. The decision is more valuable because
it considers the most important aspect of requirements derived
from the prioritisation activity. Tn addition, the organisation
can give more focus on the important requirements rather than
work on all requirements including the less important ones.
TTT. RESEARCH WORKS TN SOFTWARE PROCESS TATLORTNG
The reviewed articles presented in this paper were selected
based on the relevancy with the aim of this paper. The
selection was made based on the output that they produced,
clearly stated the components embedded and input factors that
they have used in their research studies. The components that
have been used in the previous study are regard as an
integrated element or process for them to conduct software
process tailoring. Meanwhile the input factors are attributes or
requirements needed to tailor the software process.
The reviewed articles were classified into three categories
based on the output product that they have produced which are
methodology, framework or model and supporting tool in the
software process tailoring domain.
150
A. Software Process Tailoring Methodology
Basili and Rombach [21] are pioneers in producing a
methodology to tailor software processes according to project
goals and environments to achieve process improvement. They
suggested that organisations use project environment factors
and identifY project goal factors as irJput to tailor the software
process. In order to measure the identified project goals, a
Goal-Question-Metrics (GQM) was required for measurement
purposes. The study provides general guidelines on how to
conduct software process tailoring and improvement based on
the input factors.
A study conducted by He et al [22], proposed a systematic
way to tailor a software process based on the knowledge reuse.
The idea is to reuse the knowledge of experienced employees
in software process tailoring. The vital components are
reusable knowledge documentation and tailoring processes.
The project-specific requirements are required to tailor the
process.
B. Software Process Tailoring Framework! Model
A model was developed by Xu & Ramesh [23] after an
interview was conducted with stakeholders from two
organisations. The purpose was to further investigate the
software process tailoring approach in the organisation for a
specific software project. The main components in the model to
tailor the software process are project goals, environmental
factors assessment, challenges evaluations and tailor processes.
The main input derived from project goals consists of product
goals and process goals. A year later, a framework was
developed that focused on challenges assessment to suggest
tailoring strategies [5]. There are four components in the
framework namely project goals and requirements evaluation,
challenges assessment, tailoring strategy and tailor process.
The project manager or process designer is suggested to
identity challenges factors that exist in the organisation and
then conduct an assessment to obtain insights on a suitable
tailoring strategy.
Tn the context of agile development specifically for small
and medium sized companies, Akbar [24] has taken an effort to
produce a framework that focuses on how to tailor the process
in this context. The main components embedded in the
framework are client' s perspective, project behavior, key
processes in agile development and process tailoring schema.
Tn order to tailor the agile process, the required input factors
consist of client's requirements and project behavior.
C. Software Process Tailoring Supporting Tool
A rule-based technique was used to develop a tool that is
able to capture knowledge on software process tailoring [25].
The tool embeds an exclusive list prior to the tailoring process.
The employee is able to add knowledge and experience if the
process is new and not in the repository. Project characteristics
are the main input for this tool.
Hurtado Alegria et al [26] used a Model-Driven
Engineering (MDE) approach to conduct software process
tailoring. They have used project context and organisational
software process to conduct tailoring and produced a context-
adapted process for a medium sized company.
 Aresearch work that has been conducted by Lorenz et al Article
Research
Component Input Factor
[2] used project characteristics and tailoring requirements in Output
their tool to tailor the software process. The tailoring 3. Project context context
requirements are risk factors that are required to be selected to model
produce the tailored software processes. The architecture of the 4. Tailoring
processes is one of the components embedded in the tool and is transformation
chain
taken from the standard RUP. The architecture is prioritised
Lorenz et al Tool l. Project l. Project
prior to recommending the tailored software process. [2] characteristics characteristics
2. Tailoring 2. Risk factors
Table 1 surmnarised the component and input factor
requirements
required in the software process tailoring domain from the 3. Architecture of
selected existing studies. processes
4. Prioritisation of
activities
T ABLE I. SUMMARY OF COMPONENT & INPUT FACTOR IN SOFTWARE 5. Tailored processes
PROCESS TAILORING
Research
Article Component Input Factor
Output
TV. A PROPOSED VALUE-BASED SOFTWARE PROCESS
Basili & Methodology I. Environment I. Project T AILORTNG FRAMEWORK
Rombach characteri sation environment
[21] 2. Improvement goal 2. Project goal
3. Appropriate The proposed value-based software process tailoring
model selection (VBSPT) framework is illustrated in Figure I and each
4. Transfer chosen component in the framework is explained as follows.
technology
5. Post mortem data
analysis
I. Reusable I. Project-specific
knowledge requirement
documentation
2. Tailoring process
Xu & Model I. Project goal I. Product goal
Ramesh 2. Tailor process 2. Process goal
[23] 3. Environmental Success-
factors assessment Critical YSF Identification
4. Challenges Stakeholder
evaluation
Xu & Framework I. Project goals and I. Challenges
Ramesh [5] environment
evaluation YBF Assessment
2. Challenges
assessment
3. Tailoring strategy
4. Tailor software
process
Akbar [24] Framework I. Client"s perspective I. Client" s
2. Project behaviour requirements
(project risk), 2. Project
(project states) behavior
3. Key processes- Process element
agile manifesto assessment
(communication ),
(resource
management),
(requirement Value prioritisation
management)
4. Process tailoring
schema (mapping
& tailoring) Tailoring process
Henninger Tool I. Software I. Project
& development characteri sti cs
Baumgarten methodology
[25] 2. Project
characteristics
Hurtado Tool I. Organ isational I. Organisational
Allegria et software process software
al [26] 2. Organ isational process
2. Project Fig.l. A Proposed Value-Based Software Process Tailoring Conceptual
process model
Framework

151
Value-based factor (VBF) identification: The VBF
identification is a vital component in the value-based software
process tailoring (VBSPT) conceptual framework. There are
28 commonly used value-based factors in the Malaysian
public sector. This result was obtained after conducting SLR
[27] and an exploratory survey in the Malaysian public sector
[28]. The 28 value-based factors are classified into four main
categories namely success-critical stakeholder, business
strategy, project characteristics and product characteristics.
The attribute to each of the value-based factors will be
obtained from the relevant literature review. Each of the
attributes will be assigned with a specific weightage.
Value-based factor (VB F) assessment: VBF assessment
requires the project manager to assess and rate the VBF
according to the relevancy with the need of the current
software development project.
Software development process element: The process
element in this framework consists of six main phases in
software development which are derived from the ISO/TEC
12207:2008 [29]. The standard provides generic processes,
activities, tasks, documents and roles in the software life
cycles. The six phases included in this framework are software
requirements analysis, software architectural design, software
detailed design, software construction, software integration
and software qualification testing. The process elements that
will be tailored are artefact, activity and role for each phase.
Mapping process: A mapping process will be conducted that
maps between the rated VBF with the software development
process element that was previously identified.
Process element assessment: An assessment of process
element that has been mapped with the identified VBF need to
be conducted. It is similar to assessment of the VBF which
requires the project manager to assess and rate the process
element before providing the suitable process element
recommendations.
Value prioritisation: A value prioritisation will be provided
that ranks the process elements according to the priority of
value. A tailoring rationale recommendation will be provided
to justity the value prioritisation.
Tailoring recommendation: Tailoring recommendation is a
requirement prior to tailoring process. The tailoring
recommendation is a substance needed by the project manager
in order to make a tailoring decision. It consists of three inputs
which are:
• Suitable process element recommendation: A
recommendation on the suitable process element will be
provided that matches the identified VBF.
• Tailoring operation recommendation: The tailoring
operations that will be used in this framework are add,
delete and modity. Once the recommendation on the
152
suitable process element was conducted, a
recommendation on the tailoring operations is provided.
The tailoring operation recommendation is based on the
criteria that will be developed. A tailoring rationale
recommendation will be provided in order to ease the
project manager to understand the reason of the tailoring
operation recommendation was provided.
• Tailoring rationale recommendation: A tailoring
recommendation will be provided after tailoring
operation recommendation and value prioritisation. The
tailoring rationale will justify the impact of the tailoring
process to assist the project manager in making the
decision on options that he/she needs to choose.
Tailoring process: The input received from the tailoring
operation criteria and tailoring recommendation will be used
to tailor the process accordingly.
Assessment criteria: There are two assessment criteria
required in this framework which are dedicated in assessing
VBF and software process elements. The assessment criteria
are regarded as a guideline to the project manager on the
method to assess the VBF and process elements.
Tailoring operation criteria: A criteria of tailoring operation
will be developed to recommend the suitable tailoring
operations that need to be used to tailor the process elements
in software development.
V. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
The main objective of this study is to propose a VBSPT
framework in order to recommend a tailored process in
software development. A review of research works on software
process tailoring was conducted. Based on the existing research
works, analysis and comparison was made in order to
determine what components are embedded and what inputs are
required in the research works to perform software process
tailoring. The proposed VBSPT framework is illustrated and
explained in more detail in Section 4.
The VBSPT framework proposed in this study has
integrated the value element (value-based factors and value
prioritisation) with the software process tailoring domain. The
proposed VBSPT framework is still in a horizontal perspective
and there are several works that need to be done to refine the
framework which is considered as our future works. The
recommendations for future works are as follows:
• The attribute and weightage scale for each VBF need to
be identified.
• The mapping technique needs to be identified in order
to map the process elements with the identified VBF.
• The assessment criteria for VBF and process elements
need to be determined to guide the project manager to
perform the assessment.
 • Tailoring operation criteria are required to be developed
for the purpose of recommending tailoring operations
that suit the identified VBF and process elements.
• The value calculation and prioritisation method will be
determined in order to rank the process elements
according to the value priority.
Even though the proposed VBSPT framework is still in its
early stages, the idea and concept on how to use the value-
based factors to tailor the software process is articulated and
presented in this paper. It is predicted that the framework can
be refilled further after the above-mentioned future works have
been carried out.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This research is funded by the Research University grant of
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) under the Vot no.
08H28. The authors would like to thank the Research
Management Centre of UTM and the Malaysian ministry of
education for their support and cooperation including students
and other individuals who are either directly or indirectly
involved in this project.
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