Requirement Risk Prioritization Using Analytic Hierarchy Process: A Gateway to Identify Risky Requirements

Abstract

The hazardous risks in software requirements quite often present key challenges to organizations. Requirement risks are among the most significant risks in projects and have to be managed for the success of the project. Risk prioritization plays a major role in risk management practices particularly with respect to risk assessment and planning. This study has demonstrated a novel method that uses Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) [1] to prioritize requirement risk and find which requirement is jeopardous/perilous. Using this model, it is possible to analyze prominent risk in the requirements, which can be communicated to stakeholders well on time. The study is motivated by wide application of AHP as a prioritization technique in various complex problems. This model certainly helps in obtaining risk free requirements at the end of requirement engineering phase to make a consistent quality product that has minimum rework later.