Designing Ada software for maintainability

A panel discussion is presented on some of the design methods that can be used to support Ada software maintainability. It is noted that design documentation often does not accurately reflect the code, and those most familiar with the code´s structure may not be available for consultation. The challenge is to overcome these common constraints with a combination of well-designed software, project development methods, and support from the development environment. This design and implementation of the code can have a significant impact on future software maintenance activities. Another major factor is the development process that the maintenance team uses along with management policies that govern this process. Software changes must be effectively tracked and accumulated with the documentation for the next release. A staged, layered, introduction to design and implementation that can assist the maintenance process is also presented. The four refinement levels and their focus are given