Using Gray Numbers Theory in Multi-Attribute Decision Making Methods for the Evaluation the Risk of Outsourcing of Information Technology Projects

Abstract

Uncertainty is inherent and inevitable component of projects. Research literature suggests that Information Technology (IT)projects and, in particular, outsourcing of these projects are at high risk. Therefore, according to the importance of this field, this study aimed to identify and prioritize the risks of outsourcing IT projects. Initially, by reviewing the research, a list of identified criteria was provided to the company's experts. Then, the criteria were selected after the scrutiny case study and according to the experts' opinion with the fuzzy Delphi method. In the next step, based on SWARA method, the final weights of the criteria were obtained. Also, after reviewing the literature, a list of important risks for outsourcing IT projects was identified. Then, for the prioritization of the identified risks, ARAS gray method was used. The results showed that the criterion of sharing knowledge and experience as the most important criterion and loss of resources of competitive advantage was identified as the most important risk.

Keywords

• risk of information technology project
• outsourcing
• fuzzy delphi
• swara
• grey aras