Mission-Critical and Mission-Support Software: A Preliminary Maintenance Characterization

Within the Department of Defense (DoD), mission-critical software maintenance has been reported to cost between $700 million and $20 billion annually. The wide range of estimates results from uncertainty over the definitions of “mission-critical” and “software maintenance” as well as the lack of any catalog of performing activities. The problem is deeper than definitions and level of investment: software maintenance process is poorly characterized in general. The purposes of this study1 were to undertake an initial characterization of DoD mission-critical software maintenance in terms of its activities and processes, users and stakeholders, amount of resources, and existing formal and informal policy; to identify policy issues; and to outline the scope and major features of potential new or revised policy.