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Number of Change Requests as Quality Indicator

publish date: 2026/06/24 21:11:1.179108 UTC

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Why is a high accumulated number of system change requests considered an indicator of low system quality?

Because change requests always indicate that a system was designed incorrectly from the very first day

Because change requests have no relationship to system structure whatsoever

Because system changes usually corrupt the system structure, making further changes progressively more difficult

Because more change requests automatically mean the system has more total users

Correct Answer

Because system changes usually corrupt the system structure, making further changes progressively more difficult

Explanation

The number of system change requests matters because system changes usually corrupt the system structure, making further changes more difficult. The higher the accumulated number of changes, the lower the system's quality tends to be, since structural degradation compounds with each modification.

Reference

Software Engineering, Ian Sommerville, 10th edition

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