Managing design-time uncertainty

Managing design-time uncertainty, i.e., uncertainty that developers have about making design decisions, requires creation of “uncertainty-aware” software engineering methodologies. In this paper, we propose a methodological approach for managing uncertainty using partial models. To this end, we identify the stages in the lifecycle of uncertainty-related design decisions and characterize the tasks needed to manage it. We encode this information in the Design-Time Uncertainty Management (DeTUM) model. We then use the DeTUM model to create a coherent, tool-supported methodology centred around partial model management. We demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of our methodology through case studies.