Can application maintenance effort be reduced to zero?
Ideally, the answer should be yes; Realistically, the answer is no... Read on to know why...
Do your applications run, as originally intended, all the time?
It is common knowledge that if the developed applications run without failing and deliver the exact business function without any manual intervention, then there is some semblance of moving towards zero maintenance. However, this is only a theoretical possibility.
So, what is Zero Maintenance?
Zero Maintenance is a strategy that can remove boundaries set by traditional IT management. It enables applications and systems to achieve and sustain near-zero spend, and transforms the traditional maintenance practices from “Fail and Fix” to “Predict and Prevent” and ultimately to a “Fail Proof” state.
Three pillar strategy to move forward....
The first pillar focuses on reducing non-discretionary spend. The central plot is to limit the effort to run the application in production.
'Avoid-what-can-be-avoided-and-automate-the-rest' is the way to go...
What has to be eliminated need to be measured....
A precursor to eliminating effort required to maintain an application is to measure it. It is crucial to constantly track and balance the “moving parts” within an application such as operational and technical debts. These debts, together, contribute to all of your non-discretionary spend and a part of the discretionary spend also.
The second pillar…
The second pillar houses the tools to optimize discretionary spend. This is done by optimizing the technical value and business value of the portfolio. Applications, as they age, tend to become more complex and lose business relevance. To plug this leakage in values, periodically, the portfolio should be examined and invested in to replace, retain, re-engineer or refactor applications.
It is not only cost...
The third pillar of the strategy is to deliver business outcomes by maximizing “application yield”, which is the value delivered by the portfolio to the business. To be effective, applications should be “fit for use” and “fit for purpose” as well. So ask yourself, while focusing on doing projects right, are you doing the right projects?
This 3 pillar zero maintenance strategy ensures that the applications remain stable, usable, predictable with zero or minimal non-discretionary spend and they also remain nimble & future-proof deliveringmaximum valuefor the discretionary spend.
To learn more about the Zero Maintenance strategy and how it can help your organization, access more material using the below links:
Overview Video - https://youtu.be/MrLPgR_VPs8
