Controlling a maintenance effort: an exercise in software project management

A software maintenance effort in which the programmers, though constantly working, are not producing any tangible results is described. Background is provided and the causes of the problem are identified. The sources of information describing the various methods and tools useful in managing a software project are discussed. It is shown that even though most documentation concentrates on the development phase of a project, many software project management techniques are applicable during the maintenance phase.>