Selections of Software Quality Attributes:A Joint Optimization Model for Customer Needsand Producers’ Software Quality Expenditures

摘要

This paper analyzes to find a general model of the decision to add a quality attribute to a software product with the objectivernof maximizing consumers’ welfare (utility) while maximizing producer’s and marketers’ profit at the same time. The optimalrnstrategy, optimal combination of software quality attributes, is found in two steps. First we derive from the firm optimizationrnproblem the optimal price as a function of software quality attributes. Second we solve the consumer problem fromrnsubstituting price by this optimal price. Although this paper’s focus is on software products, this model can be generalized tornpricing decisions for any kind of high-tech product with many attributes.