ITPEC IP October 2023 Question 48

Topic: System Development TechnologyAlso asked in Spring 2020 and October 2025

Which of the following is an activity in software maintenance?

a)Program modifications that are requested by an ordering party to a developer as a result of an acceptance test for softwareb)Creation of additional code for the functions that are discovered to be lacking in the unit test of a programc)Fixing of bugs that are discovered in the unit test of a programd)Program modifications to handle a system failure that occurs in actual operation

Explanation

Modifying a program to handle a failure in actual operation — maintenance is change made to software once it is in operation.

Software maintenance begins after the software has been accepted and put into operation. Correcting a fault that caused a failure in operation is corrective maintenance; adapting to a changed environment (new laws, a new OS) and improving performance or maintainability are the other kinds.

Answer (d)

Why not others:

•(a) — the modification follows the acceptance test, before the ordering party has accepted the software, so it is still part of completing development
•(b) — adding a function found missing in a unit test is programming and testing within development
•(c) — fixing a bug found in a unit test is the normal debugging of development

Key rule: Ask whether the software is already in operation: changes after release are maintenance, and changes before acceptance, whatever test found them, are development.

System Development Technology · AI-written, may contain errors

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