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Software is something that every child today knows about and since it has become a part of daily parlance, it is no doubt about how useful and vital it is in everyday life.
Software maintenance refers to the modification of a software product after delivery, in order to rectify faults, or it can also be its up gradation in order to improve its performance and make it more effective.
There can be many angles to look at software maintenance from. It can be from the point of view of fixing bugs, that is, the maintenance and repair of errors. Another aspect of maintenance is to make changes in accordance with the changes in technology and the changing requirements of the operating scenario. Maintenance can also mean providing assistance and support to end-users.
Why is software maintenance so important? The simple reason is firstly in order to provide continuity of service to users. Unexpected failure of systems can be life threatening, for example in case of aviation industry. It is obvious that a system crash or a software problem can lead to loss of crores of rupees for businesses in just a day. Secondly, changes in government and tax regulations, and technological or legal change requires up gradation of system software. Also the more user friendly a software is, and if it caters to all needs and requirements, there will be loyalty towards the software. These are thus some of the few reasons why software maintenance is necessary.
The software maintenance process can be described as follows. The first stage involves the implementation, which is involved with preparing the software. Creating and designing the software, analysing and preparing for the problems that may be faced during configuration and the follow-up activities. The next phase is the analysis of the problem and modification, when the application of the software has been done. The maintenance programmer has to analyze, confirm and check the validity, propose a solution and obtain authorizations to apply the modifications. Then comes the acceptance of the modification, the process of modification also should be confirmed with the individual who submitted the request of modification. The last phase of the maintenance process is when a software has to be retired and done away with.
The pace at which technology is changing, there will be a major impact on software maintenance. As software systems grow in size and complexity, their maintenance and evolution requires combined efforts of several software engineers. There is also a huge market for outsourcing software maintenance which is now a booming industry.
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Source by Vijay K Shetty