Multiple criteria decision support for software reuse: A case study

Abstract

In practice, many factors must be considered and balanced when making software reuse decisions. However, few empirical studies exist that leverage practical techniques to support decision-making in software reuse. This paper reports a case study that applied SMART (Simple Multi-Attribute Rating Technique) to a company that considered reuse as an option of reengineering its web site. The company's reuse goal was set to maximize benefits and to minimize costs. After several rounds of rigorous analysis, the company identified the optimal reuse percentage, which was reusing 76-100% of the existing artifacts and knowledge. Our study shows that SMART is a valuable and practical technique that can be incorporated in an organization's software reuse program.