Change Request Management in Software Maintenance Projects

Abstract

Change request management is important in software maintenance projects because software systems continuously require corrections, enhancements, adaptations, and updates after deployment. Maintenance teams often receive change requests related to defects, user needs, regulatory changes, performance issues, interface updates, database modifications, and security improvements. Traditional maintenance handling may resolve requests informally, but this can create scope confusion, repeated rework, poor prioritization, and weak traceability between requested changes and modified software artifacts. This article focuses on change request management in software maintenance projects by examining request logging, classification, impact analysis, approval control, priority assignment, implementation tracking, testing, and closure verification. The study discusses how structured change management can improve maintenance planning, reduce uncontrolled modifications, support better communication, and protect software stability. The article concludes that effective change request management can reduce maintenance risk, improve response quality, strengthen traceability, and support reliable long-term software evolution.