Types of Maintenance

Preventive Maintenance – Developers not only built a software that will be used by users, they also create a monitoring tool.   It is also possible that developers will get a 3rd party software to monitor the performance of each user. This is necessary for maintenance of the software.

This type of additional software is built with metrics where software engineers will have an updated information on how the software performs on a daily basis.   Preventive maintenance is important even with all the testing since it may not be possible to test few things before the software can actually be implemented. 

One such thing is stress,  the software needs to be tested not only in the number of users but also with the amount of information that has to go through software.   In business setting, testing is usually limited to a number of users and they are not rolled out to everyone compared to consumer type products.

Because of this, developers only rely on the initial results. But with preventive maintenance, developers can take a look at the software and gauge its performance.   If anything needs to be updated, they can immediately work on it even before a disaster happens.

Corrective Maintenance – in SDLC, corrective maintenance takes on a different definition compared to other industries. Software is essentially a program that can be changed or virtually learn from experience. Unfortunately, there are instances that a program might show a bug or is attacked with a virus.    In this account, developers will have to work on the problem immediately.  

They will eventually take care of the problem. But the process does not end there; developers will practically give this information to the software.   By working on the software again, developers will practically give the software an update to prevent the same problem from happening again.  With constant update it will practically be better through time.

Conclusion:

Software is always an important part of any business. The larger the business the more it needs a better software. Companies spend a considerable part of their resources just to have a robust system implemented in their midst. Without it, they will not be able to compete with other companies.

Automation has become the name of the game and a company will only be as good as their software. If the software is not at part with the present demand, it will not work. Resources or money should be spent to have a very effective software.

But building alone does not guarantee that the software will work in any business environment. There are lots of facts that will affect the performance of the software. Overload of information and users, incompatibility with other software and hardware problems are the pressing issues a software will always have to deal with.

This will prevent the system from running and could cost thousands of dollars in productivity or even the software itself. Businesses need to have a proactive maintenance team to ensure the smooth sailing of the creative software. They will learn about the problem, gauge its effect and create a possible solution. Once done, they can work on the software to give updates and learn a few new tricks to prevent another disaster from coming.

In SDLC, correction and prevention of the problem is not the end result. As developers learn more and more about the business environment, changes are being done to the software eventually leading to updates. This is practically the end result of maintenance in SDLC. Instead of just providing and preventing problems from occurring, maintenance will eventually lead to updates that will prove beneficial to the business.

First Page: Software Maintenance