4A Frameworks for Requirements Prioritization

Abstract

Prioritization decisions in general aim at conducting assessment of several alternatives that are characterized by multiple conflicting attributes, which are intertwined by the competing preferences of multiple assessors. These assessments personifying various forms of ambiguity such as uncertainty, ignorance, vagueness and fuzziness have to be aggregated to generate reliable collective priorities. The objective of this paper is to introduce 4A prioritization frameworks with alternatives at the centre surrounded by the four facets: Attributes, Assessors, Ambiguity and Aggregation. Elements constituting the framework are discussed in a general context and then related to software requirements. The frameworks introduced have confronted a wide scope of further research.