Problem 1
Explain why a software system that is used in a real-world environment must change or become progressively less useful.
Problem 3
Briefly describe the three types of software maintenance. Why is it sometimes difficult to distinguish between them?
Problem 4
As a software project manager in a company that specialises in the development of software for the offshore oil industry, you have been given the task of discovering the factors that affect the maintainability of the systems developed by your company. Suggest how you might set up a programme to analyse the maintenance process and discover appropriate maintainability metrics for your company.
Problem 6
What are the principal factors that affect the costs of system re-engineering?
Problem 8
Under what circumstances might an organisation decide to scrap a system when the system assessment suggests that it is of high quality and high business value.
Problem 10
Explain why problems with support software might mean that an organisation has to replace its legacy systems.
Problem 11
Do software engineers have a professional responsibility to produce code that can be readily evolved even if this is not explicitly requested by their employer?
Problem 12
The management of an organisation has asked you to carry out a system assessment and suggested that they would like the results of that assessment to show that the system is obsolete and that it should be replaced by a new system. This will mean that a number of system maintainers will lose their jobs. Your assessment actually shows that the system is well maintained and is of high quality and high business value. How would you report these results to the management of the organisation?
