More than half of the life cycle costs are attributed to the operations and maintenance of systems. In this phase, it is essential that all facets of operations and maintenance are performed. The system is being used and scrutinized to ensure that it meets the needs initially stated in the planning phase. Problems are detected and new needs arise. This may require modification to existing code, new code to be developed and/or hardware configuration changes. Providing user support is an ongoing activity. New users will require training and others will require training as well. The emphasis of this phase will be to ensure that the users needs are met and the system continues to perform as specified in the operational environment. Additionally, as operations and maintenance personnel monitor the current system they may become aware of better ways to improve the system and therefore make recommendations. Changes will be required to fix problems, possibly add features and make improvements to the system. This phase will continue as long as the system is in use.