Course Description:
Once a software product is delivered, it must evolve – or change – over time. When in actual operations, defects are discovered, operating environments change, and new user requirements emerge. While the Maintenance phase of the life cycle generally begins following a post-implementation period, actual maintenance activates may occur earlier. As such, we can define maintenance as the totality of activities required to provide cost-effective support to software. Given this, maintenance can be performed during the pre-delivery phase as well as later. This course begins with an examination of the fundamentals, including terminology; the nature and need for maintenance; maintenance costs and software evolution. From there, Maintenance proceeds through key issues; the maintenance process; techniques for maintenance and software maintenance tools – all within the context of real-world maintenance challenges.