Towards a Research Framework on Requirements Prioritization

There exist a large number of approaches for prioritization of software requirements. Despite of several empirical studies, there is still a lack of evidence of which approaches that are to prefer, since different studies have resulted in different conclusions. Reasons may be due to differences in contexts, variables measured, and data sets used. This paper presents a research framework for studies about requirements prioritization, which aims to enable building a more consistent knowledge base and stronger evidence. The framework facilitates comparison, replication, and high-level analysis of prioritization approaches by proposing suitable variables to measure. The basis of the framework comes from a systematic review conducted on requirements prioritization techniques, and is further refined through literature studies of similar frameworks in related areas, and in a research workshop. The framework supports researchers in conducting and reporting prioritization studies, and supports practitioners in getting information about different approaches.