Abrar A. Qureshi

Bio: Abrar A. Qureshi is an academic researcher from University of Virginia's College at Wise. The author has contributed to research in topics: Software quality & Requirement prioritization. The author has an hindex of 6, co-authored 13 publications receiving 122 citations. Previous affiliations of Abrar A. Qureshi include University of Virginia.

A Quality-Based Requirement Prioritization Framework Using Binary Inputs

Abstract: Despite the clear need to prioritize requirements in software projects, finding a practical method for requirements prioritization has proven difficult. Existing requirements prioritization methods that provide the most consistent results are also the most complex, and therefore the most difficult to implement. More informal methods save time and are easier to apply, but may not be suitable for practical scenarios because they lack the structure and consistency required to properly analyze requirements. This paper proposes a novel and practical approach for prioritizing requirements in software projects. The proposed approach attempts to quantify the quality of requirements to provide a measurement that is representative of all quality criteria identified for a specific software project. The derived quality measurement can be easily computed to serve as the main metric for requirements prioritization.

A multi -criteria evaluation of information security controls using boolean features

Abstract: For organizations, the protection of information is of utmost importance. Throughout the years, organizations have experienced numerous system losses which have had a direct impact on their most valuable asset, information. Organizations must therefore find ways to make sure that the appropriate and most effective information security controls are implemented in order to protect their critical or most sensitive classified information. Existing information security control selection methods have been employed in the past, including risk analysis and management, baseline manuals, or random approaches. However, these methods do not take into consideration organization specific constraints such as costs of implementation, scheduling, and availability of resources when determining the best set of controls. In addition, these existing methods may not ensure the inclusion of required/necessary controls or the exclusion of unnecessary controls. This paper proposes a novel approach for evaluating information security controls to help decision-makers select the most effective ones in resource-constrained environments. The proposed approach uses Desirability Functions to quantify the desirability of each information security control taking into account benefits and penalties (restrictions) associated with implementing the control. This provides Management with a measurement that is representative of the overall quality of each information security control based on organizational goals. Through a case study, the approach is proven successful in providing a way for measuring the quality of information security controls (based on multiple application-specific criteria) for specific organizations.

Software requirement prioritization using fuzzy multi-attribute decision making

Abstract: Although many approaches have been proposed to prioritize requirements in software projects, almost none has been widely adopted. This is mostly due to their complexity, time commitment, lack of consistency, or implementation difficulties. This paper proposes a novel approach to do so that is practical, easy to implement and can show a reasonable level of consistency. In addition, it takes in consideration the imprecise nature of requirements and quality attributes by modeling the latter as fuzzy variables. The problem of prioritizing requirements is formulated as a fuzzy multi-attribute decision problem in which the expected value operator is used to rank the alternatives listed in the problem formulation. This approach can be easily extended to include other quality attributes as well as customized to fit the needs of most software projects.

A Multi-criteria Decision Making Approach for Resource Allocation in Software Engineering

Abstract: The completion of reliable software products within the expected time frame represents a major problem for companies that develop software applications. As the field grows, the software industry continues to struggle with delivering products in a timely manner. A major cause for increased cost and low quality in software products can be attributed to inadequate resource allocation. Therefore, it is important to develop systematic personnel assignment processes that consider the complete candidate skill set and provide the best fit to increase quality, reduce cost, and reduce training time. This paper presents a novel methodology that considers multiple project-specific skills to assign resources to software tasks. The methodology takes into account the existing capabilities of candidates to determine the best fit based on the required skills for the task. A sample case study is used to show the methodology’s capabilities.

Analysis of Inconsistencies in Object Oriented Metrics

Abstract: Software Metrics have been proposed for procedural and object oriented paradigms to measure various attributes like complexity, cohesion, software quality, and productivity. Among all of these, “Complexity” and “Cohesion” are considered to be the most important attributes. As object oriented analysis and design appears to be at the forefront of software engineering technologies, many different object-oriented complexity and cohesion metrics have been developed. The aim of the paper is to compare some of the complexity and cohesion metrics and to analyze these metrics and expose their inconsistencies. The paper provides a brief introduction of CK and Morris’s metrics for calculating the complexity and cohesion of a software. The inconsistencies in these methods are exposed by providing various examples. The paper concludes by proving inconsistencies in CK’s cohesion matrices and Morris’s complexity matrices.

The Design and Analysis of Experiments

Abstract: THE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF EXPERIMENTS. By Oscar Kempthorne. New York, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1952. 631 pp. $8.50. This book by a teacher of statistics (as well as a consultant for \"experimenters\") is a comprehensive study of the philosophical background for the statistical design of experiment. It is necessary to have some facility with algebraic notation and manipulation to be able to use the volume intelligently. The problems are presented from the theoretical point of view, without such practical examples as would be helpful for those not acquainted with mathematics. The mathematical justification for the techniques is given. As a somewhat advanced treatment of the design and analysis of experiments, this volume will be interesting and helpful for many who approach statistics theoretically as well as practically. With emphasis on the \"why,\" and with description given broadly, the author relates the subject matter to the general theory of statistics and to the general problem of experimental inference. MARGARET J. ROBERTSON

A systematic literature review of software requirements prioritization research

Abstract: Context: During requirements engineering, prioritization is performed to grade or rank requirements in their order of importance and subsequent implementation releases It is a major step taken in making crucial decisions so as to increase the economic value of a system Objective: The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze existing prioritization techniques in the context of the formulated research questions Method: Search terms with relevant keywords were used to identify primary studies that relate requirements prioritization classified under journal articles, conference papers, workshops, symposiums, book chapters and IEEE bulletins Results: 73 Primary studies were selected from the search processes Out of these studies; 13 were journal articles, 35 were conference papers and 8 were workshop papers Furthermore, contributions from symposiums as well as IEEE bulletins were 2 each while the total number of book chapters amounted to 13 Conclusion: Prioritization has been significantly discussed in the requirements engineering domain However, it was generally discovered that, existing prioritization techniques suffer from a number of limitations which includes: lack of scalability, methods of dealing with rank updates during requirements evolution, coordination among stakeholders and requirements dependency issues Also, the applicability of existing techniques in complex and real setting has not been reported yet

Information and Software Technology

Abstract: Context: During requirements engineering, prioritization is performed to grade or rank requirements in their order of importance and subsequent implementation releases. It is a major step taken in making crucial decisions so as to increase the economic value of a system. Objective: The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze existing prioritization techniques in the context of the formulated research questions. Method: Search terms with relevant keywords were used to identify primary studies that relate requirements prioritization classified under journal articles, conference papers, workshops, symposiums, book chapters and IEEE bulletins. Results: 73 Primary studies were selected from the search processes. Out of these studies; 13 were journal articles, 35 were conference papers and 8 were workshop papers. Furthermore, contributions from symposiums as well as IEEE bulletins were 2 each while the total number of book chapters amounted