11.4.2 Managing Priorities: A Key to Systematic Decision‐Making

A central concern of systems engineering is selecting the most preferred alternatives for implementation from among competing options. The selection process is sometimes called tradeoff analysis, and is often built on the methods of decision analysis and utility theory. The process can be loosely divided into two parts, a first part in which one determines the relative priority of various requirements, and a second part, a design selection phase, in which alternatives are compared, and the preferred alternatives chosen. This paper discusses the means of determining the priority order for implementing system changes. It also outlines the implications on the selection process of evolutionary systems development. BACKGROUND

[1]  Victor R. Basili,et al.  Iterative and incremental developments. a brief history , 2003, Computer.

[2]  Tom Gilb,et al.  11.4.1 From Waterfall to Evolutionary Development (Evo): How we rapidly created faster, more user‐friendly, and more productive software products for a competitive multi‐national market , 2005 .

[3]  Tom Gilb.  Impact Estimation Tables Understanding Complex Technology Quantitatively , .

[4]  Michael A. Cusumano,et al.  Trade-offs between Productivity and Quality in Selecting Software Development Practices , 2003, IEEE Softw..

[5]  A. Terry Bahill,et al.  Quantitative methods for tradeoff analyses , 2001 .

[6]  Ralph L. Keeney,et al.  Value-Focused Thinking: A Path to Creative Decisionmaking , 1992 .

[7]  John B. Kidd,et al.  Decisions with Multiple Objectives—Preferences and Value Tradeoffs , 1977 .

[8]  Tom Gilb.  Understanding Complex Technology Quantitatively: Impact Estimation Tables , 1999 .

[9]  David M. Kreps.  Notes On The Theory Of Choice , 1988 .

[10]  Tom Gilb,et al.  Competitive Engineering: A Handbook For Systems Engineering, Requirements Engineering, And Software Engineering Using Planguage , 2005 .

[11]  Tom Gilb,et al.  Principles of software engineering management , 1988 .

[12]  Alan MacCormarck.  Product-Development Practices That Work: How Internet Companies Build Software , 2001 .

[13]  Henry Alberts.  Joint Logistics Commanders Guidance for Use of Evolutionary Acquisition Strategy to Acquire Weapon Systems. , 1995 .

[14]  Marvin V. Zelkowitz,et al.  Principles of software engineering , 1979 .

[15]  Yoji Akao,et al.  Quality Function Deployment : Integrating Customer Requirements into Product Design , 1990 .

[16]  Thomas L. Saaty.  What is the analytic hierarchy process , 1988 .

[17]  R. L. Keeney,et al.  Decisions with Multiple Objectives: Preferences and Value Trade-Offs , 1977, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics.