3. The contributions of these components to the quality of maintenance services are:
• Computer programs (the “code”) – obviously, its quality is the basic component for the quality of services and functionality of the software product.
• The procedures that accompany the software system deal with both, the regular operation of the software system and its maintenance. The regular software operational procedures define the method of program employment and the responsibilities for performing input processing, output processing and control activities. The maintenance procedures define the processes and responsibilities for the correction of “bugs”. Another group of procedures deals with changes and improvements of programs, their approval and performance. The quality of these types of procedures contributes to the quality of services the software system provides.
• Documentation supports both users and maintenance professionals. The user’s documentation (the “user’s manual” etc.) provides a description of the available applications and the appropriate method for their use. Their quality is a major factor regarding the ability of users to successfully and efficiently apply the software applications. The maintenance documentation (the “programmer’s software manual”, etc.) provides the maintenance team with all the required information about the code and the structure and tasks of each software module. This information is used when trying to locate causes of software failures (“bugs”) or to change or improve an existing software system.
• Data including parameters code lists that adapt the software to the needs of the specific user are necessary for operating the software. Another type of essential data is the standard test data, used to ascertain that no undesirable changes in the code or software data have occurred and to determine what kind of software malfunctioning can be expected.