The Role of Software Process Simulation Modeling in Software Risk Management: a Systematic Review

Nowadays software projects are still suffering from many problems due to various kinds of software risks. Software risk management is a crucial part of successful project management, but it is often not well implemented in real-world software projects. One reason is that project managers lack effective and practical tools to manage software risks. Software Process Simulation Modeling (SPSM) has been emerging as a promising approach to address a variety of issues in software engineering area, including risk management. However, the current state of how SPSM supports software risk management is not yet clear. This paper presents a systematic literature review which purpose is to obtain the state of the art of the applications of SPSM in software risk management. We drew the following conclusions from the review results: (1) The number of SPSM studies on software risk management is relatively small, but increasing gradually in recent years. (2) SPSM is mainly applied in risk analysis and risk management planning activities. (3) Software risks related to requirements, development process and management process are the ones most studied by SPSM. (4) Discrete-Event Simulation and System Dynamics are two most popular simulation paradigms, while Hybrid simulation methods are more and more widely used. (5) Extend, iThink and Vensim are the most popular simulation tools in SPSM. (6) Most of SPSM approaches and models have not been well applied into real-world risk management practices.