Patent ID: 6938007

Claim:
A method for determining a cost for maintaining a software application, comprising the steps of: receiving and storing functional metrics data of the software application in a computer readable storage medium wherein the functional metrics data includes software size in function points, number of users, and number of sites; determining a composite index of the software application from the functional metrics data; receiving and storing maintenance information for the software application in the computer readable storage medium; determining a maintainability index of the software application from the maintenance information, the maintainability index providing an indication of the availability and quality of documentation for the software application; receiving and storing an average cost per full-time equivalent in the computer readable storage medium; determining a maintenance unit cost of the software application from the composite index, the maintainability index, and the average cost per full-time equivalent; determining a total maintenance cost of the software application from the maintenance unit cost and the size in function points of the software application, the total maintenance cost providing an indication of the level of maintenance effort required to maintain the software application; and performing maintenance on the software application in response to the total maintenance cost not exceeding a desired threshold.