University of Kashan Soft Computing Journal 2322-3707 11 2 2023 02 20 Presenting a solution to improve case-based reasoning in software cost estimation using tabu search Presenting a solution to improve case-based reasoning in software cost estimation using tabu search 18 37 113627 10.22052/scj.2023.246672.1085 FA Kooshyar Esmaeeli-Rad Department of Computer, Buinzahra Branch, Islamic Azad University, Buinzahra, Iran Mahdi Mollamotalebi Department of Computer Engineering and Information Technology, Qazvin Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran Journal Article 2022 07 26 Providing an accurate estimate of the required cost of software development is necessary for the effective management and success of software projects. In the early stages of software development, detailed information about the project is unavailable, making it challenging to provide an accurate cost estimate. With the aim of increasing the accuracy of software development cost estimation, this research has presented a method based on case-based reasoning and Tabu search, which by removing unnecessary features, provides an estimate with the minimum required features for software projects. The initial solution selection mechanism, objective function evaluation index, and missing data removal are the variable parameters of the current research, whose effectiveness has been investigated in the form of 8 different scenarios. The predictive power of the presented method has been measured by the comprehensive and non-comprehensive cross-validation method in the Albrecht, China, Desharnais, Kemmerer, Kitchenham, Maxwell and Miyazaki datasets and evaluated using the two methods of Wu and Liu. The results have shown the superiority of the presented method over Wu and Liu's methods based on the evaluation indicators of the prediction level, median relative error, mean relative error, and mean absolute error. In addition, the effectiveness of the presented method is independent of the methodology and environment used for software development, which by focusing on the general knowledge part of case-based reasoning, has caused the stability of the accuracy of the estimates presented in the research data set. Providing an accurate estimate of the required cost of software development is necessary for the effective management and success of software projects. In the early stages of software development, detailed information about the project is unavailable, making it challenging to provide an accurate cost estimate. With the aim of increasing the accuracy of software development cost estimation, this research has presented a method based on case-based reasoning and Tabu search, which by removing unnecessary features, provides an estimate with the minimum required features for software projects. The initial solution selection mechanism, objective function evaluation index, and missing data removal are the variable parameters of the current research, whose effectiveness has been investigated in the form of 8 different scenarios. The predictive power of the presented method has been measured by the comprehensive and non-comprehensive cross-validation method in the Albrecht, China, Desharnais, Kemmerer, Kitchenham, Maxwell and Miyazaki datasets and evaluated using the two methods of Wu and Liu. The results have shown the superiority of the presented method over Wu and Liu's methods based on the evaluation indicators of the prediction level, median relative error, mean relative error, and mean absolute error. In addition, the effectiveness of the presented method is independent of the methodology and environment used for software development, which by focusing on the general knowledge part of case-based reasoning, has caused the stability of the accuracy of the estimates presented in the research data set. https://scj.kashanu.ac.ir/article_113627_386abd36524ef1910100279d35a96fd5.pdf