A Method for Estimating Maintenance Cost in a Software Project: A Case Study

SUMMARY Various research works indicate that the maintenance stage consumes most of the resources needed for a software project. Thus, this stage must be especially considered in productivity studies. Maintainability is the quality factor including all those software characteristics designed to make the product easier to maintain towards the end of achieving greater productivity in the maintenance stage. This paper proposes an empirical model for estimating maintenance cost based on this quality factor, as well as the method of using it. Finally, a practical case will be considered which reinforces the validity of this model. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.