A Fuzzy Fermatean TOPSIS Approach for Ranking Parameters in Software Testing

Software testing is an essential part of the software development life cycle. It helps detect and fix faults before release, ensuring the final product is reliable, safe, and meets user expectations while saving time and cost. Many software reliability growth models aim to predict reliability and determine optimal release time, but few focus on identifying the factors that strongly influence the testing process. This study enhances this aspect by proposing a structured prioritization approach using the fuzzy Fermatean TOPSIS (FFT) method. A real-world case study has been conducted to identify the parameters affecting testing (PATs) and their selection criteria. Expert opinions have been expressed using fuzzy Fermatean numbers (FFNs) to handle uncertainty, and the rank-sum method has been used to assign weights. The results show that automated testing, verification and validation, and testing coverage are the most critical parameters. The FFT approach has been found consistent and reliable for improving testing efficiency.