8.6.2 Maintainability Considerations for Software Intensive Systems

This paper reflects one aspect of an overall research initiative to better understand and articulate the “cause and effect” relationship between design causes and operational effects. Here the specific focus is on “before the fact” system maintainability. Maintenance considerations for software intensive systems must be addressed early in design and must focus on the entire system life cycle. Use of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components in system architectures reinforces this need. COTS usage can be readily observed in modern commercial and defense systems. Such architectures are often characterized by an evolving physical baseline (technology refreshment) driven by obsolescence considerations. This paper proposes aspects of a framework to evaluate system architectures, with a particular focus on system maintainability and with the objective of positively influencing the long-term cost of operational maintenance.