Software Risk Analysis

Software risk analysis in software development is a systematic process that involves identifying
and evaluating any problem that might happen during the creation, implementation, and
maintaining of software systems. It can guarantee that projects are finished on schedule, within
budget, and with the appropriate quality. It is a crucial component of software development.

What is Software Risk Analysis in Software Development?

Software risk analysis in Software Development involves identifying which application risks
should be tested first. Risk is the possible loss or harm that an organization might face. Risk can
include issues like project management, technical challenges, resource constraints, changes in
requirements, and more Finding every possible risk and estimating are the two goals of risk
analysis. Think about the potential consequences of testing your software and how it could
impact your software when creating a test plan. Risk detection during the production phase
might be costly. Therefore, risk analysis in testing is the best way to figure out what goes wrong
before going into production.

Why perform software risk analysis?

Using different technologies, software developers add new features in Software Development.
Software system vulnerabilities grow in combination with technology. Software goods are
therefore more vulnerable to malfunctioning or performing poorly.
Many factors, including timetable delays, inaccurate cost projections, a lack of resources, and
security hazards, contribute to the risks associated with software in Software Development.
Certain risks are unavoidable, some of them are as follows:

a. The amount of time you set out to test.

b. Flaw leaks can happen in complicated or large-scale applications.
c. The client has an immediate requirement to finish the job.
d. The specifications are inadequate.
e. Therefore, it’s critical to identify, priorities, and reduce risk or take proactive
preventative action during the software development process, as opposed to
monitoring risk possibilities.

Possible Scenarios of Risk Occurrence

Here are Some Possible Scenario of Software Risk
Types of Software Risk
Given below table shows the type of risk and their impact with example:
Type of Risk Description Impact Examples
Technical risks Risks arising from Technical risks can  Incomplete or
technical challenges lead to delays, cost inaccurate
or limitations in the overruns, and even requirements
software software failure if  Unforeseen
development not properly technical
process. managed. complexities
 Integration issues
with third-party
systems
 Inadequate testing
and quality
assurance
Security risks Risks related to Security risks can  Insecure coding
vulnerabilities in the lead to financial practices
software that could losses, reputational  Lack of proper
allow unauthorized damage, and legal access controls
access or data liabilities.  Vulnerabilities in
breaches. third-party libraries
 Insufficient data
security measures
Scalability risks Risks associated with Scalability risks can  Inadequate
the software’s ability lead to infrastructure
to handle increasing performance capacity
workloads or user bottlenecks,  Inefficient
demands. outages, and lost algorithms or data
revenue. structures
 Lack of scalability
testing
 Poorly designed
architecture
Performance risks Risks related to the Performance risks  Inefficient
software’s ability to can lead to user algorithms or data
 meet performance dissatisfaction, lost structures
expectations in terms productivity, and  Excessive memory
of speed, competitive or CPU usage
responsiveness, and disadvantage.  Poor database
resource utilization. performance
 Network latency
issues
Budgetary risks Risks associated with Budgetary risks can  Unrealistic cost
exceeding the lead to financial estimates
project’s budget or strain, project  Scope creep or
financial constraints. delays, and even changes in
cancellation. requirements
 Unforeseen
expenses, such as
third-party licenses
or hardware
upgrades
 Inefficient resource
utilization
Contractual & Risks arising from Contractual and  Unclear or
legal risks legal or contractual legal risks can lead ambiguous contract
obligations that are to disputes, delays, terms
not properly and even legal  Failure to comply
understood or action. with intellectual
managed. property laws
 Data privacy
violations
 Lack of proper
documentation and
record-keeping
Operational risks Risks associated with Operational risks  Inadequate
the ongoing can lead to monitoring and
operation and downtime, outages, alerting systems
maintenance of the and data loss.  Lack of proper
software system. disaster recovery
plans
 Insufficient training
for operational staff
  Poor change
management
practices
Schedule risks Risks related to Schedule risks can  Unrealistic timelines
delays in the lead to increased or milestones
software costs, pressure on  Underestimation of
development process resources, and task complexity
or missed deadlines. missed market  Resource
opportunities. dependencies or
conflicts
 Unforeseen events
or delays

The COCOMO Model

The COCOMO Model is a procedural cost estimate model for software projects and is often
used as a process of reliably predicting the various parameters associated with making a project
such as size, effort, cost, time, and quality. It was proposed by Barry Boehm in 1981 and is
based on the study of 63 projects, which makes it one of the best-documented models.
The key parameters that define the quality of any software product, which are also an outcome
of COCOMO, are primarily effort and schedule:
1. Effort: Amount of labor that will be required to complete a task. It is measured in
person-months units.
2. Schedule: This simply means the amount of time required for the completion of the job,
which is, of course, proportional to the effort put in. It is measured in the units of time
such as weeks, and months.
Types of Projects in the COCOMO Model
In the COCOMO model, software projects are categorized into three types based on their
complexity, size, and the development environment. These types are:
1. Organic: A software project is said to be an organic type if the team size required is
adequately small, the problem is well understood and has been solved in the past and
also the team members have a nominal experience regarding the problem.
2. Semi-detached: A software project is said to be a Semi-detached type if the vital
characteristics such as team size, experience, and knowledge of the various
programming environments lie in between organic and embedded. The projects
 classified as Semi-Detached are comparatively less familiar and difficult to develop
compared to the organic ones and require more experience better guidance and
creativity. Eg: Compilers or different Embedded Systems can be considered Semi-
Detached types.
3. Embedded: A software project requiring the highest level of complexity, creativity, and
experience requirement falls under this category. Such software requires a larger team
size than the other two models and also the developers need to be sufficiently
experienced and creative to develop such complex models.
Basic COCOMO Model

The Basic COCOMO model is a straight forward way to estimate the effort needed for a
software development project. It uses a simple mathematical formula to predict how many
person-months of work are required based on the size of the project, measured in thousands of
lines of code (KLOC).
It estimates effort and time required for development using the following expression:
E = a*(KLOC)b PM
Tdev = c*(E)d
Person required = Effort/ Time
Where,
E is effort applied in Person-Months
KLOC is the estimated size of the software product indicate in Kilo Lines of Code
Tdev is the development time in months
a, b, c are constants determined by the category of software project given in below table.
The above formula is used for the cost estimation of the basic COCOMO model and also is
used in the subsequent models. The constant values a, b, c, and d for the Basic Model for the
different categories of the software projects are:

Software a b c d
Projects
Organic 2.4 1.05 2.5 0.38
Semi-Detached 3.0 1.12 2.5 0.35
Embedded 3.6 1.20 2.5 0.32

Advantages of the COCOMO Model

1. Systematic cost estimation: Provides a systematic way to estimate the cost and effort of a
software project.
2. Helps to estimate cost and effort: This can be used to estimate the cost and effort of a
software project at different stages of the development process.
3. Helps in high-impact factors: Helps in identifying the factors that have the greatest
impact on the cost and effort of a software project.
 4. Helps to evaluate the feasibility of a project: This can be used to evaluate the feasibility
of a software project by estimating the cost and effort required to complete it.
Disadvantages of the COCOMO Model
1. Assumes project size as the main factor: Assumes that the size of the software is the main
factor that determines the cost and effort of a software project, which may not always be
the case.
2. Does not count development team-specific characteristics: Does not take into account the
specific characteristics of the development team, which can have a significant impact on
the cost and effort of a software project.
3. Not enough precise cost and effort estimate: This does not provide a precise estimate of
the cost and effort of a software project, as it is based on assumptions and averages.