Half-Maintainability?A Formidable Goal

A recent letter issued by HQ USAF/CV established a Double-R/Half-M policy for developing reliability and maintainability (R&M) requirements for the next generation of systems. This paper reviews the second portion of that policy, Half-M, and assesses the feasibility and implications of achieving the goal, as well as the programmatic elements considered most likely to assist in achievement of the goal. The paper discusses measures of maintainability, trends and concepts influencing maintainability, and the maintainability of current systems. The results of a survey of maintainability practitioners are presented as part of the assessment of the Half-M goal.