Applicability of Software Maintenance Techniques in Nigeria Private Institutions: (A case Study of ABC University, Nigeria)

References

[1] Maintenance Approach

[2] Primarily reactive (corrective) with occasional manual preventive actions.

[3] Integrated mix of preventive, adaptive, perfective; driven by automation and predictive analytics.

[4] Sommerville (2015); Shakil et al. (2015)

[5] Tools & Processes

[6] Manual code edits, occasional version control; no CI/CD pipelines; no automated testing.

[7] Automated testing suites, CI/CD pipelines, version control, bug tracking systems (e.g., JIRA, Jenkins).

[8] Sommerville (2015); Ahmad et al. (2017)

[9] Infrastructure Management

[10] On-premises hosting for LMS, portals, ERP; limited scalability; downtime common during peak periods.

[11] Cloud-based or hybrid infrastructure with elastic scaling, load balancing, real-time monitoring.

[12] Shakil et al. (2015)

[13] Documentation

[14] Maintenance logs partially documented; no formal change request workflow in some units.

[15] Full documentation of change requests, updates, rollback plans, and version history; often audited for compliance.

[16] Osei-Bryson and Kojo (2021)

[17] Staff Training and Capacity

[18] Limited formal training; no systematic vendor partnerships for skills upgrades.

[19] Continuous professional development, vendor-certified training, and active knowledge-sharing communities.

[20] Ahmad et al. (2017)

[21] Policy and Governance

[22] No comprehensive Software Maintenance Policy (SMP); budget allocations irregular.

[23] Robust SMP integrated with IT governance frameworks; clear approval workflows; stable budget lines.

[24] Sommerville (2015); Osei-Bryson & Kojo (2021)

[25] Outcomes: Uptime and User Satisfaction

[26] Frequent downtimes on ABC-Learn, student portal, and network services; user complaints about availability and speed.

[27] High availability (>99% uptime); user experience prioritized with quick turnaround for bug fixes and enhancements.

[28] Shakil et al. (2015); UniversityCube.org

[29] Source: Adapted by author from field data and comparative literature (2025).

[30] Table 6 above revealed a side by side comparison of ABC University’s software maintenance approach with established global best practices, integrating both field data and insights from the literature [2, 5, 7,8, 11 and 26].

[31] Maintenance Approach

[32] ABC University’s software maintenance was predominantly reactive as showed in Figure 4 below, relying heavily on corrective measures with only occasional, manually scheduled preventive actions. This pattern was typical of under resourced institutions where incident driven fixes take precedence over proactive strategies. In contrast, global best practices emphasizes on integrated maintenance cycle that balances corrective, adaptive, perfective and preventive maintenance techniques, often automated and guided by predictive analytics to anticipate failures before they occur. This mismatch explains the recurring system downtimes and the “portal under maintenance “bottlenecks observed in ABC University’s learning and administrative platforms.

[33] Figure 4: ABC University Software Maintenance Cycle (Source: Author, 2025)

[34] Tools and Processes

[35] The tools landscape further reinforces this gap in Figure 4. ABC relies mainly on manual code edits, informal version control system and lacks modern tools such as CI/CD pipelines or automated testing suites. Global practice by comparison, demands robust toolchains, including version control systems like Github, continous integration servers like Jenkins and bug tracking software like JIRA, Bugzilla [29]. The lack of automation means that software fixes at ABC are slower to deploy, more error prone and rarely subject to systematic quality assurance.

[36] Figure 4: Tools and Processes with Global Practices (Source: Author, 2025)

[37] Infrastructure Management

[38] ABC University’s reliance on on-premises hosting for core systems like the LMS and ERP severely limits scalability and makes the institution vulnerable to peak period failures. By contrast, peer reviewed frameworks advocate cloud based or hybrid infrastructure, which offers elastic scaling, built in redundancy and real time monitoring for performance bottlenecks [17]. The absence of load balancing and real time alerts at ABC explains the significant performance dips during high demand periods such as registration or examination weeks.

[39] Documentation

[40] Partial or inconsistent documentation was another critical weakness. Some units do not maintain formal change request workflows or version histories, creating operational risks when troubleshooting or rolling back updates. In high performing contexts, full documentation of change requests, version histories and rollback plans is standard and often mandated for compliance audits like ISO/IEC 14764 [10].

[41] Staff Training and Capacity

[42] ABC University’s limited formal training and ad hoc skill upgrades stand in stark contrast to global norms, where continuous professional development and vendor certified training are routine. This capacity gap weakens the institution’s ability to adopt emerging tools and frameworks. Collaborative knowledge sharing communities, which can support local problem solving, are also missing at ABC.

[43] Policy and Governance

[44] At a governance level, the absence of a comprehensive Software Maintenance Policy (SMP) and regular budget allocations further constraint maintenance quality. Global practice links a well defined SMP to broader IT governance frameworks, ensuring that approvals, funding and accountability structures are in place [33].

[45] Outcomes

[46] Collectively, these factors explained the frequent downtimes and persistent user dissatisfaction with system reliability and speed. Whereas mature institutions strive for greater than 99% uptime and continuously monitor user experience, ABC’s maintenance culture does not yet support such standards.

[47] Generally, the comparative mapping in the table 6 above, clarifies that ABC University’s practices are typical of many private institutions in resource constrained environments. The over reliance on reactive maintenance, lack of automation and underinvestment in human capacity are not unique to ABC but reflect systemic challenges faced by private universities in Nigeria and similar contexts. The practical implication is that piecemeal improvement such as occasional training workshops are unlikely to yield sustained gains unless embedded within a broader strategy that includes clear policy frameworks, dedicated budget lines for maintenance and upgrades with adoption of automated tools for monitoring, testing and version control system. Regular skills development linked to evolving best practices.

[48] CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

[49] Conclusion

[50] This study has investigated and evaluates the applicability of standard software maintenance techniques at ABC University Nigeria. The results indicated that while corrective maintenance was the dominant approach, adaptive and preventive maintenance are limited, largely manual and lack structured automation. Consequently, system uptime was frequently compromised, staff confidence remains moderate and institutional support structures are inconsistent.

[51] These findings align with broader trends in developing country context, where constrained budgets, limited technical capacity, poor documentation often hamper effective maintenance [5]. When compared to global best practices, ABC’s current approaches fall short in leveraging modern tools such as automated testing frameworks, CI/CD pipelines and cloud based infrastructure management.

[52] Recommendations

[53] To close these gaps as discussed in this research work, the following actionable recommendations are proposed;

[54] Investment in preventive schedules and automation is key. Develop and implement regular preventive maintenance cycles, adopt automated test suites and monitoring tools to detect and resolve issues proactively, minimizing downtime and reactive fixes.

[55] Modular code designs that allow easier adaptation to change requirement and integration of new technologies has to be adopted using reengineering critical systems by leveraging on open source tools for version control and deployment pipelines.

[56] Conduct regular training workshops focused on modern software maintenance tools such as CI/CD pipelines, automated bug tracking and Git based version systems for enhancing staff capacity. Establishment of partnerships with technology vendors to provide ongoing certification and practical training is important.

[57] Software Maintenance Policy (SMP) must be develop comprehensively to align with institutional goals and IT governance standards by ensuring clear budgetary allocations and approval workflows for maintenance activities.

[58] This case study needs to be replicated in other private, states, and federal owned universities to compare contexts and validate findings.

[59] Conduct a detailed cost benefit analysis of adopting automation and cloud services, providing evidence for policy and budgetary decisions.

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@article{1710870,
      author = {Rahmon Ariyo Badru, Ayodele Akuemaho Babatunde, Idowu Olugbenga Adewumi},
      title = {Applicability of Software Maintenance Techniques in Nigeria Private Institutions:  (A case Study of ABC University, Nigeria)},
      journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
      year = {2025},
      volume = {9},
      number = {3},
      pages = {1524-1538},
      issn = {2456-8880},
      url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1710870.pdf},
      abstract = {In the digital age, sustainable software upkeep is crucial for the dependability of higher education systems, especially in private universities in Nigeria that increasingly rely on learning management systems (LMS), student portals, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions. This research explored the relevance of corrective, preventive, adaptive, and perfective maintenance methods at ABC University, Nigeria, employing a mixed-methods case study approach. Quantitative data comprised 21 survey responses, regression analysis, and maintenance log examination, supplemented by semi-structured interviews with ICT personnel. Findings indicated that corrective maintenance prevails among systems, featuring average resolution durations of 6?12 hours per incident and network outages averaging 6?10 hours monthly. Regression analysis indicated that the quantity of monthly maintenance tasks (B = 1.21, p = 0.015) and the availability of budget (B = 2.54, p = 0.035) are significant predictors of maintenance effectiveness, whereas training demonstrated a positive yet non-significant impact (B = 1.87, p = 0.080). The model accounted for 28.4% (R? = 0.284) of the variability in staff confidence. Correlation analysis revealed that staff expertise is highly associated with response speed (r = 0.71) and management of downtime (r = 0.39), whereas downtime management demonstrated the strongest predictive ability for staff confidence (r = 0.44, p < 0.05). Even with few preventive measures, merely 35% of employees indicated they received formal training over the last two years. Comparative analysis revealed that ABC?s practices fall short of global best practices, which prioritize automated patching, CI/CD pipelines, predictive analytics, and cloud-based systems. The ongoing dependence on manual and reactive methods has led to regular unexpected downtimes, decreased user satisfaction, and limited scalability. The research indicates that although remedial measures are still essential, private universities in Nigeria should transition to proactive upkeep by incorporating predictive analytics, automated assessments, and ongoing professional training. Recommendations for policy involve implementing a thorough Software Maintenance Policy (SMP), distribution of protected budgets and methodical performance evaluations. Future studies should replicate this research at public universities and perform cost?benefit analyses of cloud and automation tools to guide IT governance in sub-Saharan Africa.},
      keywords = {Software Maintenance, Corrective Maintenance, Perfective Maintenance, Preventive Maintenance, Adaptive Maintenance, Private Universities, LMS, Student Portal, ERP System, Nigeria Higher Education, System Downtime, Predictive Analytics},
      month = {September},
  }