Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
A number of vendors have developed tools to ease the software maintenance burden.
RescueWare from Relativity Technologies is a product that converts third-generation code
such as COBOL to highly maintainable C++, Java, or Visual Basic object-oriented code.
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RescueWare lets a programmer see the original system as a set of object views, which visually
illustrate module functioning and program structures.
Relativity Technologies'
Modernization Workbench is a PC-
based software solution that
enables companies to consolidate
legacy or redundant systems into a
single, more maintainable, and
modern application.
(Source: Courtesy of Relativity
Technologies.)
The Relationship Between Maintenance and Design
Programs are expensive to develop, but they are even more expensive to maintain. For older
programs, the total cost of maintenance can be up to five times greater than the total cost of
development. A determining factor in the decision to replace a system is the point at which
it is costing more to fix than to replace. Programs that are well designed and documented to
be efficient, structured, and flexible are less expensive to maintain in later years. Thus, there
is a direct relationship between design and maintenance. More time spent on design up front
can mean less time spent on maintenance later.
In most cases, it is worth the extra time and expense to design a good system. Consider
a system that costs $250,000 to develop. Spending 10 percent more on design would cost
an additional $25,000, bringing the total design cost to $275,000. Maintenance costs
over the life of the program could be $1,000,000. If this additional design expense can reduce
maintenance costs by 10 percent, the savings in maintenance costs would be $100,000.
Over the life of the program, the net savings would be $75,000 ($100,000 - $25,000). This
relationship between investment in design and long-term maintenance savings is shown in
Figure 13.13.
The need for good design goes beyond mere costs. Companies risk ignoring small system
problems when they arise, but these small problems can become large in the future. As men-
tioned earlier, because maintenance programmers spend an estimated 50 percent or more of
their time deciphering poorly written, undocumented program code, they have little time to
spend on developing new, more effective systems. If put to good use, the tools and tech-
niques discussed in this chapter will allow organizations to build longer-lasting, more reliable
systems.
