Toward Ordering the Set of Modifications to Solve a Maintenance Request

Abstract

In this paper we set out the idea that the text plain nature of the software source code, as we know it today, is a strong obstacle for an effective maintenance. The reason is that all the software artifact elements, from the most complex to the simplest, are immediately available to the maintenance programmer. Such ease is deceitful since it allows the maintenance programmer to modify any component in any order. However, maintenance in any engineering field is inside-out intrinsically, and such essential characteristic should also be held in software maintenance. The maintenance scenario suggested here restricts modifications by the maintenance programmer and drives her to implement them following an order.