A scenario-based robust model for the next release problem

The next release problem is a significant task in the iterative and incremental software development model, involving the selection of a set of requirements to be included in the next software release. Given the dynamic environment in which modern software development occurs, the uncertainties related to the input variables considered in this problem should be taken into account. In this context, this paper proposes a novel formulation to the next release problem based on scenarios and considering the robust optimization framework, which enables the production of robust solutions. In order to measure the "price of robustness," several experiments were designed and executed over artificial and real-world instances. All experimental results are consistent to show that the penalization with regard to solution quality due to robustness is relatively small, which qualifies the proposed model to be applied even in large-scale real-world software projects.

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