Member Avatar for nse

help me!!
need to know why maintenance costs more than development and why???
please be clear...

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Dani AI

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Short answer: maintenance usually costs more because it is ongoing, multiplies with real users and environments, and covers many activities beyond the initial build. That is consistent with what and suggested: small, throwaway code can be cheap to maintain, but any product that lives in the real world accumulates work after release. ’s definition (bug fixes plus new functions) is exactly the left-hand side of most maintenance budgets.

Common reasons (brief):

  • Types of maintenance: corrective (bugs), adaptive (platform/OS/browser changes), perfective (new/changed features), preventive (refactor, remove technical debt). Each type has different drivers and costs.
  • User scale and diversity: more users + more platforms = more edge cases and support load.
  • External change: OS updates, dependency upgrades, standards and security patches force repeated work.
  • Regression pressure: every change can break existing functionality; test and QA effort grows with feature count and integrations.
  • Operational and release overhead: packaging, deployment, rollbacks, monitoring, SLA support, and documentation are recurring costs.
  • Knowledge loss and technical debt: staff turnover and quick hacks increase time-per-change.

A few practical points and ways to argue this in a project context:

  • Cite lifecycle numbers: maintenance commonly represents a large fraction of lifetime cost (industry estimates often put it in the tens of percent to majority range). See the overview at Software maintenance and the principles behind ongoing evolution in Lehman’s laws.
  • Mitigations that reduce long-term cost: automated regression suites + CI/CD, modular APIs and backward-compatibility policies, scheduled refactoring (preventive maintenance), clear docs and ownership, and a measured SLA/incident-cost model so maintenance is budgeted and visible.
  • For the project: list expected maintenance tasks, estimate hours per month for support/patching/testing, and show how that compares to a one-time development estimate. That makes the cost difference concrete rather than just theoretical.

Recommended Answers

All 7 Replies

Member Avatar for Narue

Let's play a game. Why do you think maintenance doesn't cost more than development?

Member Avatar for nse

i didn't` say that iam just asking not because i think its not true but coz i need a good explanation

Member Avatar for Narue

And I'm giving you a good explanation by making you think about it.

Member Avatar for MattEvans

Your question needs more clarification; development of what, and maintenance of what:

#include <iostream.h>

int main(void)
{
std::cout << "Hello, world!";
}

That code cost more (time) to develop than it will to maintain, and some 'real-life' trivial/one-function applications are the same. Others are not; things like web browsers/APIs/etc need to follow changing standards, but that should be seen less as maintenance than it is further development.

In an ideal world one released version of an application shouldn't need extensive maintenance - if maintenance means patching, covering holes, or fixing bugs; because good development should include a period of very, very detailed testing; and it should be based on well-considered plans.

The real world isn't an ideal world by any means; but program code is a complete infallible unit; it shouldn't break down like a lawnmower; because it isn't subject to mechanical stresses.

That is, perhaps an opinionated view; but it's the best reply I can give for such a general statement..

Member Avatar for nse

thanks alot mattEvans..
but iam doing a project for this statement, ur right that it might be general but i will explain it,,
the s/w developers responsibility doesn't end when a peace of s/w is implemented, delivered, and installed ,, while in use errors are discovered and changes are needed so u need to add new functions..
so this is exactly what i mean by maintenance my question is why it costs more than development??
i know that it makes sense but i need a professional explanation based on software engineering .. wish that u get my point
thankx again

Member Avatar for Narue

During initial development you don't have to provide releases, or patches, or documentation, or support to anybody outside of the development process. You can correct bugs and add features quickly and easily en mass. After the product has been released, you don't have these luxuries, and they all have a significant cost.

Member Avatar for nse

thankx a lot..
it was really helpful.

[life would be much easier if we just had a source code]

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