A Case Retrieval Method for Knowledge-Based Software Process Tailoring Using Structural Similarity

Reuse of the software development process and its knowledge and experiences is a critical factor for the success of the software project. On the other hand, the software development process needs to be tailored to reflect the specific characteristics of the software project. So, if we can retrieve a similar process to a new project, process tailoring will be less costly and less error-prone because the retrieved process can be tailored to the new case with fewer modifications. In this paper, we propose the case retrieval method based on structural similarity. The structural similarity is calculated by the degree that process elements in a past case are applicable to a new project. By measuring the structural similarity, the retrieved process is ensured to be tailored to the new case with fewer modifications. We validate the usefulness of our method through the experiments using 30 cases.