Title: Towards formulation of software project risk radars

Authors: J. Dasgupta, R.P. Mohanty

Addresses: ITM – BIT Collaborative Research Program, Enterprise Risk Management Group, Patni Computer Systems Limited, SEEPZ, Andheri (East), Mumbai 400 096, India. ' ITM Group of Institutions, B.S.E.L. Tech Park, 704-712, Sector 30 A, Vashi, Navi Mumbai 400 705, India

Abstract: We have constructed software project risk radars to guide us in prioritisation and initiation of risk mitigation actions. Focus of this paper is on measurement of various software project risks, and representation of these various risks through a variety of risk radars. The paper first examines software project risks reported in literature and classifies software project risks into major categories. We then discuss methods that can be used to quantitatively assess these risks; and introduce several new concepts such as fuzzy risk TOPSIS, logistic and lag indicators of software project risks. A comparison of these methods is presented. We also introduce an innovative framework for risk reporting that has been named the |risk radar|. Utility of |radar| format to graphically depict software project risks, and its effectiveness as a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) method is illustrated through examples that demonstrate the use of different radar formats.

Keywords: software project risks; quantitative risk measurement; fuzzy sets; fuzzy TOPSIS; lag indicators; logistic regression; risk radar; probability radar; fuzzy radar; logistic radar; lag radar; multicriteria decision making; MCDM; risk assessment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIS.2010.034352

International Journal of Business Information Systems, 2010 Vol.6 No.2, pp.151 - 178

Published online: 01 Aug 2010 *

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