A multi-criteria decision-making approach to analyse the viability of blockchain in software development projects

• Published in: Journal of intelligent & fuzzy systems 2023-01, Vol.44 (1), p.113-124
• Main Authors: Masood, Faraz, Faridi, Arman Rasool
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Blockchain; Cryptography; Decision analysis; Decision making; Multiple criterion; Project planning; Software development
• ISSN: 1064-1246; 1875-8967
• DOI: 10.3233/JIFS-220830

Blockchain technology is getting famous, and use cases of blockchain range from financial services to the Metaverse. It is considered a platform for web 3.0. As a result, many industries are planning to adopt blockchain. A simple public blockchain is not suitable for most business scenarios, so hybrid and private blockchains came into existence, but it is important to decide which type of blockchain should be adopted during the project planning phase. Various models can be found in the literature to determine if blockchain should be adopted and, if so, which type of blockchain should be adopted. However, these models are already becoming obsolete as they determine the usage of blockchain using simple yes or no. In order to overcome these problems, all these models are converted from binary-based selection to fuzzy-based selection, and decision matrices are created. Various multi-criteria decision analysis methods are applied, and final results are obtained. In addition, a novel model is presented, and a MATLAB application is developed to let the user determine if blockchain can be integrated with any technology or not. This application can be used as a standard in the project’s planning phase and helps avoid losses to the industry.