A Software Maintenance Issue

Let’s Focus on Maintenance Staffing:

A Software Maintenance Issue

Abstract

Majority of the costs within the software development cycle are during the software maintenance cycle generating about 60-90% (Conejero et al., 2012) of the total developmental costs. As the years continue to pass, costs continue to only increase in this highly competitive, pressured environment, within the software development industry. Even despite the reduction in hardware costs and advancements in maintenance tools, costs are a concern for all organizations implementing software. IT organizations seek to mitigate these costs and explore efficient cost reducing measures.

This paper will investigate the issues surrounding maintenance staffing; one of the key issues recognized in the software maintenance industry. Staffing involves filling the positions in the software maintenance teams by selecting and training people for the function. The purpose will hope to lead to a better understanding of the issues encountered by software maintenance staffing; its impacts towards the maintenance cycle, and propose several solutions for future companies to implement.

Table of Contents

Abstract 2

Table of Contents 3

1. Introduction 4

2. Staffing Issues 5

2.1. Inexperienced People 5

2.2. Maintenance Education/Training 5

2.3. Attitudes/Morale 7

3. Discussion 7

3.1. Tools 7

3.2. Management 8

4. Conclusion 9

5. References 9

1. Introduction

Software maintenance is defined as “the process of modifying a software product after delivery to correct faults or to implement new functional requirements thereby improving the performance, reliability, and adaptability for change request in the product for a modified environment” (Choudhari & Suman, 2012, p. 1103). Much of the effort of the software development cycle is spent on software maintenance. Costs and effort associated with the software maintenance is estimated to be between 60 -90% (Conejero et al., 2012) contributing towards the SDLC (Figure A).

Figure A: Software Development Life Cycle (Lakulu et al., 2010, p. 87)

Abran & Moore (2004) present a list of some technical