On Using Fuzzy Linguistic 2-Tuples for the Evaluation of Human Resource Suitability in Software Development Tasks

Abstract

Efficient allocation of human resources to the development tasks comprising a software project is a key challenge in software project management. To address this critical issue, a systematic human resource evaluation and selection approach can be proven helpful. In this paper, a fuzzy linguistic approach is introduced to evaluate the suitability of candidate human resources (software developers) considering their technical skills (i.e., provided skills) and the technical skills required to perform a software development task (i.e., task-related skills). The proposed approach is based on qualitative evaluations which are derived in the form of fuzzy linguistic 2-tuples from a group of decision makers (project managers). The approach applies a group/similarity degree-based aggregation technique to obtain an objective aggregation of the ratings of task-related skills and provided skills. To further analyse the suitability of each candidate developer, possible skill relationships are considered, which reflect the contribution of provided skills to the capability of learning other skills. The applicability of the approach is demonstrated and discussed through an exemplar case study scenario.