Project management inspired framework for action selection in wireless sensor networks

Applications in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) sometimes cannot deliver the quality required by users due to packet loss and node leaving. There is a trade-off between energy and quality: increasing quality requires energy, and decreasing energy invites a lack of quality. To adjust the trade-off, actions which make changes to the energy and quality condition are required. There has been previous research on actions to reduce energy and to improve quality, but how to select actions and methods in accordance with the condition has not been established. To overcome this problem, we propose a framework that can select suitable actions from multiple choices based on an analysis of the condition by applying methods found in Project Management. This framework consists of (1) Earned Value Management (EVM) and (2) an Action Table. EVM is a metric that is used to analyze cost and progress, and the Action Table is a method to select appropriate actions in accordance with condition. Simulation results show that the proposed framework can adjust the trade-off more effectively than conventional frameworks by selecting and changing the most suitable actions.