A Revelatory Case Study into the Adequacy of Standard Maintenance Models in an ERP Context

Standards are consensus-based documents that codify best practices. The use of standards (such as IEEE/EIA 12207, a maintenance model) is noted to assure that software projects are successfully completed on time, within budget and with the intended benefits. However, available standards for software maintenance model are mainly meant for in-house custom software. Are the published standards sufficient to provide a solution for the ERP environment? Or are activities involved in ERP maintenance and upgrade somehow unique such that a new maintenance model is warranted? This study entailed a comprehensive case study of a large Government agency to gather empirical data on their ERP maintenance model – from software maintenance preparation through software upgrade. Our findings show that the existing standard for maintenance model is generally comprehensive but does not cover all the requirements of an ERP maintenance model, such as: (1) inclusion of longterm vendor maintenance support; (2) searching and implementing maintenance support from the vendor, as well as reporting maintenance requests to the vendor; (3) deciding whether to keep prior user-enhancements, and reapplying them (if applicable) after patch maintenance or upgrade; and (4) fully assessing new functionality in each (potential) upgrade version.