Software maintenance is the task of modifying a running product previously delivered to the client, in order to correct defects, improve performance or adapt it to the environment. This task is a crucial activity for enterprises. Without it, existing systems would become rapidly out-of-date and inefficient. The purpose of this paper is to present a software maintenance approach used in small and medium-sized business (SMB) organizations in Brazil. Currently, these organizations represent 95.5% of the software companies in the country. The approach presented here indicates how SMB IT companies have improved their software maintenance processes. Multiple case studies were performed to validate this approach. The outcomes showed that strategies associated with managing users’ knowledge and development/maintenance teams are relevant to increase the maintenance process effectiveness. This approach involves three aspects: users’ knowledge management, maintenance team knowledge and the management and maintenance process. This improvement includes reducing time and also minimizing the number of tickets. The response time for tickets resolution to the end user has been reduced. In addition, IT organizations have minimized the effects associated with both staff and client turnovers.

中文翻译：

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一种软件维护方法：中小型企业 IT 组织的案例研究

软件维护是修改先前交付给客户的正在运行的产品的任务，以纠正缺陷、提高性能或使其适应环境。这项任务对企业来说是一项至关重要的活动。没有它，现有系统将迅速过时且效率低下。本文的目的是介绍一种用于巴西中小型企业 (SMB) 组织的软件维护方法。目前，这些组织代表了该国 95.5% 的软件公司。此处介绍的方法表明 SMB IT 公司如何改进其软件维护流程。进行了多个案例研究来验证这种方法。结果表明，与管理用户知识和开发/维护团队相关的策略与提高维护过程的有效性相关。这种方法涉及到三个方面：用户的知识管理、维护团队的知识和管理维护过程。这种改进包括减少时间并最大限度地减少票证的数量。为最终用户解决故障单的响应时间已缩短。此外，IT 组织已将与员工和客户流失相关的影响降至最低。为最终用户解决故障单的响应时间已缩短。此外，IT 组织已将与员工和客户流失相关的影响降至最低。为最终用户解决故障单的响应时间已缩短。此外，IT 组织已将与员工和客户流失相关的影响降至最低。