MDX BIS4225.
10
BIS4225.10
Systems Maintenance
1 2
Operations and Mantenance
This starts when the initiator
provisionally accepts the
system.
Once a system is up and
running, it needs to be
provided with the best
possible service.
3 4
Software Maintenance
Definition: The totality of
activities required to provide
cost-effective support to a
software system.
Pre-Delivery Stage (determination
of supportability, logistics)
Post-Delivery Stage (software
modification, training, help desk)
5 6
Operations and Mantenance
After a system has been:
designed,
developed, and
tested,
it moves into the Operations
and Maintenance phase.
Software Maintenance
Definition (IEEE 1219): The
modification of a software
product after delivery
to correct faults,
to improve performance, or
to adapt the product to a modified
environment.
Software Maintenance
Large systems are never
complete and they continue
to evolve.
Maintenance is a form of
continuing development
within the constraints of the
existing software system.
1
MDX BIS4225.10

Software Maintenance Software Maintenance

It is not only about fixing

Cost of Correcting Design Errors

bugs (80% of maintenance
effort is for non-corrective
actions).
Maintenance account for over
60% of effort expended by a
development organization.
Initiation Development Implementation Operations &
Maintenance
7 A (1999, 424) 8

Software Maintenance Need for Maintenance

Software Maintainers: Correct Errors Changes in
Correct Design system, files, or
Look at the product
Flaws databases
development code.
Interface with Improve design
Look at the current situation. new or Cater to different
Look forward to anticipate changed hardware,
problems and functional systems software,
changes. Enhancements networks, etc.
9 10

Areas of Focus Categories

Maintaining control over:
systems data-to-day functions
system modification
Perfecting:
existing acceptable functions
system performance from
degrading to unacceptable levels.
11
Corrective Maintenance
to correct discovered faults (top
maintenance priority)
Perfective Maintenance
to improve performance or
maintainability (not changing
functionality)
12

2
MDX BIS4225.10
Categories
Adaptive Maintenance
to maintain usability in a
changed or changing
environment
Preventive Maintenance
to enable software to best serve
the needs of end users
13
Maintenance Activities
Unique Activities
Need thorough knowledge of
codes structure and content.
Need to conduct impact analysis on
likely and actual outcomes of their
work.
Need to analyze Software Problem
Reports (SPRs).
15
Maintenance Activities
Maintenance Planning
Activities
May last for several years.
Proper maintenance planning
should begin with the decision to
develop a new system!
17
Prioritization
Urgency
Criticality
A problem is critical if the
software, or an essential part
of it, is unavailable
14
Maintenance Activities
Supporting Activities
Configuration Management
(controlled changes through
approved Software Configuration
Management process).
Quality (by reducing complexity
and conducting software
inspections).
16
Maintenance Activities
Maintenance Planning
Activities
Scope of software maintenance.
Tailoring of the post-delivery process.
People who will provide maintenance.
Estimation of life cycle costs.
18
3
MDX BIS4225.10

Maintenance Activities Maintenance Process

Standards Maintenance Process Models
IEEE 1219 Standard for Software Provides operations.
Maintenance Provides detailed inputs/outputs to
ISO/IEC 12207 Standard for Life- these operations.
Cycle Processes Specified in:
ISO/IEC 14764 Standard for IEEE 1219
Software Maintenance ISO/IEC 14764
19 20

Maintenance Process Maintenance Process

Maintenance Process Models Maintenance Process Activities:
Process Implementation
Modification
Request Classification & Problem and Modification Analysis
Analyze
Identification
Modification Implementation
Delivery Design Maintenance Review and Acceptance
Migration
Acceptance Test Implementation Software Retirement
System Test

21 22

Organization Aspects Organization Aspects

Software Maintainers: Software Maintainers:
Software developers are not An organization must be in
always used to maintaining the place to meet usersneeds
system once it is operational. when they use the software.
Software maintainers can be Respond to problem reports.
from a separate team. This can Provide user support.
be outsourced.
23 24

4
MDX BIS4225.10

Management Aspects Management Aspects

Documentation:
SPR: Software Problem Report
SCR: Software Change Request
(prepared for approval by Review
Board before making changes)
SMR: Software Modification
Report (prepared after making
changes)
25
Modified Software Releases:
Major Releases (new solutions,
correction of outstanding faults,
perfecting existing software)
Minor Releases (small extensions)
Emergency Releases (urgent
patches)
26

Problems
Technical Problems
Limited Understanding (especially for
systems with bad documentation).
Testing (time and cost).
Impact Analysis (requires special skills).
Maintainability (usually not incorporated
in the development process).
Problems
Management Problems
Alignment with Organizational Issues
(ROI is never clear, problem to get
resources for maintenance).
Staffing (for unglamourous work).
Process Issues (especially activities that
are not found in software development,
for example, help desk support).

27 28

Problems Problems
Maintenance Cost Maintenance Cost Estimates
Costs are high due to Parametric Models: COCOMO
maintenance problems. (Constructive Cost Model).
Maintenance consumes a major Experience: sound judgement,
share of a products life cycle reasoning, work breakdown
costs. structure, guesses, use of
empirical/historical data.
29 30

5
MDX BIS4225.10

Measurements Measurements
General Software Specific Metrics
Engineering Metrics IEEE 982.1 Software Maturity Index (SMI)

GQM: Goal-Question-Metric MT (Fc + Fa +F d)

SMI =
MT
Identify organizational goals
MT = No of modules
Defining questions related to goals Fc = No of modules that have been changed
Selecting measures that answer the Fa = No of modules that have been added
questions. Fd = No of modules from the preceding release that
were deleted in the current release.
31 32