An Assessment Mechanism for Integrated Software Sustainability Evaluation Model via Evaluation Theory

Abstract

Evaluation of software sustainability aids in decision-maker’s identification of the specific actions needed to guarantee sustainability for current and future generations. The prior approach to assessment focused on how the business environment was changing and using the high-quality software sustainability evaluation model (SSEM) affected those changes. Numerous well-established quality models, concepts, and understandings impacted on SSEM trends. These act as frameworks for developing software evaluations, the outcomes of which are applied to the assessment of generic software procedures. Therefore, this research aimed to use Evaluation Theory (ET) to create an assessment mechanism for an integrated Software Sustainability Evaluation Model (i-SSEM). This model encompasses evaluation criteria, targets, assessment processes, data-gathering techniques, synthesis techniques, and yardsticks. Nine criteria are presented in this study to evaluate software sustainability encompassing functional adequacy, dependability, performance efficiency, usability, security, compatibility, maintainability, portability, and impactibility. The use of the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) methodology, effectively classifies the recommended criteria into sustainable dimensions. A Goal Question Metric (GQM) is used to establish the software criteria by precisely specifying the aim, perspectives, and viewpoints of an evaluation of the sustainability aspects. By highlighting the unique evaluation mechanism for software products and processes and utilizing both quantitative and qualitative measurement techniques, this model improves the current SSEM.