PBRP: Pattern-based approach for software release planning

Release planning is assigning a series of requirements to a set of sequential releases considering technical and resource constraints. The large number of requirements, uncertainty of effective factors, dependency between requirements, and various constraints cause the release planning to be classified as NP-hard and it often needs a search-based approach to find the near optimal solution. The present paper proposes an adaptive approach for release planning that can be customized according to the project specifications and incorporated experiences within the process. At first, a release planning process model which includes four steps is presented. Later, the concept of release planning pattern is defined for each step of the process model, which suggests the best algorithm for achieving the step. Finally, the pattern-based release planning approach is explained based upon the customized process model proposed that can be adapted for various projects. Five software companies and 31 projects are selected as case studies. Results of validation showed that in more than 87% of the cases, the proposed approach leads to better release plans and faster planning processes than those used previously. Using the best fit method and past practices that are considered the most important factors to the proposed approach makes it usable and practical.