Finding Optimal Solution for Satisficing Non-functional Requirements via 0-1 Programming

On-Functional Requirements (NFRs) are vital for the success of software systems. Generally speaking, NFRs are some implicit expectations about how well the software will work, often known as software quality. For building better software, the NFRs should be considered as criteria for design decision. However, different NFRs may produce different criteria on the implementation strategies of the software functions. A trade-off analysis is needed for getting an optimal plan during design decision to satisfice NFRs as well as possible. By focusing on the NFRs that can be quantitatively specified, this paper proposes an approach to finding such an optimal solution for helping to make better decision. This approach regards the NFRs as the constraints on the implementation strategies of the software functions and models the selection of implementation strategies as a 0-1 programming problem. Then, a 0-1 programming solver can be used to find the optimal solution. An example is given to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach.