Analyzing the factors Influencing green software development using a hybrid fuzzy approach

Today, Environmental protection and sustainable development are two critical issues. Sustainability is now playing a significant role in almost every aspect of life. Information and communication technology is an integral element in the global economy and international development, with extensive applications in almost all industries. Similarly, software development is an essential component of a rapidly evolving technology community. It is also an important starting point for reducing resource consumption and carbon emissions. Nevertheless, compared to hardware, the software has received inconsiderable attention. The aim of this study is to identify, rank, and determine the importance of factors influencing green software development using a hybrid approach. Five criteria and four subcritical were identified from qualitative content analysis of relevant studies and interviews with twelve academic and industry experts. FDEMATEL was employed to determine the interaction and interrelationships among the identified criteria and sub-criteria while utilizing FANP to calculate the weights of the criteria and their relevant sub-criteria to determine their priorities. The following ranked first to fifth as the most influential factors: operational factor “$ 0.2153 $”, infrastructure factor “$ 0.2046 $”, technological factor “$ 0.2006 $”, individual factor “$ 0.1945 $”, and the organizational factor “$ 0.1849 $”. Among the criteria, knowledge, and awareness had the greatest weight of “$ 0.2908 $“, and ethical factors had the lowest weight of “$ 0.2308 $”. Given the insignificant difference between the highest and lowest factors, it can be concluded that all factors are almost equally effective. And it can be concluded developing green software requires the creation of a trusted ecosystem.