Software is a complex and delicate thing. As such, it needs to be taken care of in order to ensure that it can last a long time. Maintainability is the key to software efficiency and longevity.
Why Does Software Require Maintenance?
Software developers are constantly trying to improve their code and make it more efficient. But what does this mean for the future of software development? First and foremost, you must enhance your software’s maintainability.
Software is not a one-time investment. It requires maintenance to continue to function and provide the best service possible.
Maintenance is necessary for two main reasons: software efficiency and software maintainability. Software efficiency is about how much time it takes for a program to process data and respond. In contrast, software maintainability refers to how easy it is for programmers or others in the company to make changes or fix bugs in the code.
There are many ways companies can improve their software’s efficiency and maintainability, but there are three key aspects that every company should focus on—testing, documentation, and automation.
What is Software Maintainability?
Software maintainability is software’s ability to be modified without causing side effects. This can be measured by the time, cost, or effort it takes to make changes. The less time, cost, and effort it takes to make changes, the higher the software maintainability.
The following are some of the prime factors that can be measured to assess the level of maintainability:
- The number and complexity of commands and functions in a program.
- The number and complexity of dependencies between modules in a program.
- The size and complexity of a program’s data structures.
- The time it takes a programmer to make changes to code without introducing errors or bugs.
Benefits of Software Maintainability and Maintenance
- Increases the efficiency of software
- Reduces the time and cost required to make changes
- Reduces downtime
Steps for Improving Your Software’s Efficiency
Efficiency is a key metric for any business. Follow these tips and achieve more efficient business solutions.
1. Implement Infrastructure Monitoring
An application can be considered maintainable if it is easy to understand and modify. Therefore, maintainability is a critical factor in software efficiency. In addition, implementing application monitoring will help identify and fix problems before they happen, thus increasing the efficiency of the software.
2. Incorporate Automated Testing Methods
Automated testing is a process of testing the software to check if it is working as per the requirements. This process aims to ensure that the software works properly and does not have any bugs. This process can be done manually, but it can also be done automatically using automated testing tools.
3. Balance Modularity and Reusability
Modularity is the degree to which a software system is composed of individual parts that can be independently analyzed and developed. Reusability is the degree to which something can be used in multiple contexts. Achieving a balance between modularity and reusability can be difficult, but it’s essential to help you create a maintainable and efficient software system.
4. Create and Maintain Documentation
Documentation is one of the most important aspects of software development. It ensures that the IT team can understand how the system works and what they need to do in order to maintain it. It should also be updated when any changes are made to reflect these changes. This will help with efficiency as well as maintainability.
SMART TS XL Can Improve Your Company’s Software Maintenance
Software maintainability and efficiency are major concerns for companies that rely on software to run their business and, on both fronts, IN-COM’s Software Intelligence® technology can help. The SMART TS XL tool makes it easy for IT teams to quickly analyze code and make changes to meet project needs and deadlines. What’s more, SMART TS XL technology offers powerful documentation for exporting and sharing reports, annotating code, and documenting business rules and catalogs within the organization.
Contact us today to schedule a demo and learn more about how we can help.