Criteria definition for digital requirements using hesitant fuzzy linguistic terms sets: an application to the automotive industry

Managing a portfolio of digital products is challenging, particularly in a context of limited economic resources and workforce. Therefore, prioritization of activities and new developments is crucial. In Software Development environment, almost all well-known prioritization techniques are based on experts’ knowledge and opinion, leaving little room for a data-driven, objective approach. In this paper, we propose a methodology that adopts the Delphi framework and Hesitant Fuzzy Linguistic Term Sets for collecting experts’ opinions, evaluating perceived importance, and computing group consensus. The objective is to provide a framework to define a group-consensual set of relevant criteria that would represent the basis for a data-driven prioritization process for digital requirements. Implementation and results from a real case application in a European automotive company are presented to understand the relevance of criteria and suggest their inclusion or exclusion for prioritization purposes.