Researches On Step-Tailoring Of Mini-type Software Development Project Based On Critical Chain In A Project Time-Constrained Environment

A large number of software development projects are mini-type projects. When it comes to mini-type projects, one of the most serious problem is that according to constrained time, it is difficult to progress exactly the same as what we do in large-scale projects——for instance, going through the whole steps defined by the famous waterfall model, Most of the time, mini-type software developer are fighting with constrained resources, especially constrained time. However, not having enough time does not mean mini-type projects need not take care of the quality of software. In fact, mini-type projects also need to make sure its own quality rightly meet the need and it should do everything it could to make sure the key steps towards the succeed of itself be effectively executed. In the paper we analyze the problems on step-tailoring of mini-type software development project based on critical chain in a time-constrained environment. The point of this paper is the use of critical chain on the purpose of predicting the time and buffer of every step on a fixed probability. The consumption of allocated buffers can then be calculated with the appointed project time, the result of which can then be used to find out whether some steps are need to be tailored. And which steps are the targets of tailoring depends on the importance of every step toward the whole project.In order to determine which steps to be tailored in an objective way, firstly, we use quality as the key rule while making decisions. Secondly, we select several main elements which have great effect on the quality of a software project and determine the weight of every step on the basis of suggestions come from experts. Thirdly, we determine the authority of every expert while scoring every element listed above according to his role and his experience. Fourthly, we have all the steps of the target project scored by the experts based on the effect they have on the elements which affect the quality of the project. Fifthly, we calculate the final score of every step by summing up sores given by the experts on the basis of fuzzy soft sets theory applied on the authorities of the experts respectively. Finally, we sort all the steps according to their final scores through high to low. When it is necessary to tailor some steps of the project, we can select the target steps in proper sequence from the bottom to the top of the sorted list.The method of analyzing and tailoring discussed above has been used and evaluated in real mini-type projects. According to the results, this method is proved to have real value for mini-type software development projects.