Model-driven development platform selection: four industry case studies

Abstract

Model-driven development platforms shift the focus of software development activity from coding to modeling for enterprises. A significant number of such platforms are available in the market. Selecting the best fitting platform is challenging, as domain experts are not typically model-driven deployment platform experts and have limited time for acquiring the needed knowledge. We model the problem as a multi-criteria decision-making problem and capture knowledge systematically about the features and qualities of 30 alternative platforms. Through four industry case studies, we confirm that the model supports decision-makers with the selection problem by reducing the time and cost of the decision-making process and by providing a richer list of options than the enterprises considered initially. We show that having decision knowledge readily available supports decision-makers in making more rational, efficient, and effective decisions. The study’s theoretical contribution is the observation that the decision framework provides a reliable approach for creating decision models in software production.