ITPEC IP April 2020 Question 49

Topic: System Development TechnologyAlso asked in April 2026

Which of the following is an activity that is performed in software maintenance?

a)Issuing an initial password for a system userb)Investigating how to implement system requirements including the ease of maintenance during development of a new systemc)Conducting an acceptance test for a new system for which development was outsourced to a vendord)Modifying the program of a system that is in operation in order to make the system conform to law revisions

Explanation

Modifying a program in operation so the system conforms to revised laws — software maintenance changes software after it has been released.

Once a system is in operation, its software still has to change: to correct defects found in use (corrective maintenance), to adapt to changes in the environment such as new laws, tax rates or operating systems (adaptive maintenance), and to improve performance or maintainability (perfective and preventive maintenance). A law revision forcing a program change is the textbook case of adaptive maintenance.

Answer (d)

Why not others:

•(a) — issuing an initial password to a user is user account administration, part of running the system, not changing its software
•(b) — deciding how to implement requirements, maintainability included, happens in the design of a new system during development
•(c) — the acceptance test of a newly developed system comes before release, at the end of development

Key rule: Maintenance is any change to software already in operation, whether to fix defects, to adapt to law or environment changes, or to improve it; work before release belongs to development.

System Development Technology · AI-written, may contain errors

Previous Next

Practice this exam

This question comes from an official ITPEC past paper. ITPEC Practice is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with ITPEC. See the official IP past-paper collection or Report an issue.