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Largest Share of Maintenance Effort

publish date: 2026/06/24 21:13:56.854115 UTC

volume_mute

Based on survey data comparing studies from 1980 to 2010, which type of maintenance activity consumes the largest share of overall maintenance effort?

Environmental adaptation

Functionality addition or modification

All three types consume exactly equal shares

Fault repair

Correct Answer

Functionality addition or modification

Explanation

Survey data comparing studies across several decades shows that functionality addition or modification consumes the largest share of maintenance effort (roughly 58%), followed by fault repair (around 24%) and environmental adaptation (around 19%). Repairing faults is not the most expensive maintenance activity.

Reference

Software Engineering, Ian Sommerville, 10th edition

Quizzes you can take where this question appears

Software Maintenance - Types and Cost Distribution