A framework for considering uncertainty in software systems

Abstract

There are many aspects involved in the development and operation of a software system, including system artefacts, activities, and infrastructure. Most of these aspects are vulnerable to uncertainty, which can result in risks to system quality and performance. Thus it is important to identify, represent and manage uncertainty in software systems. We hypothesise that using an underlying conceptual framework for characterising uncertainty can facilitate these activities. This paper demonstrates the use of an extensible framework, which defines a foundation for the systematic and explicit consideration of uncertainty in software systems. A software architecture case study is used to illustrate and evaluate the framework. A discussion of potential uses for the framework and future research is also provided.