What does the Maintenance stage of the System Development Life Cycle involve?

The Maintenance stage of the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is crucial for ensuring that a system continues to function effectively after its initial implementation. During this phase, ongoing support and updates are provided to maintain performance and address any issues that emerge. This includes monitoring the system for efficiency, fixing bugs, making necessary adjustments, and implementing improvements based on user feedback.

This stage is essential as it guarantees the longevity and reliability of the system, adapting it to changing requirements and environments. The focus is on sustaining the current functionality and performance levels, which is why ensuring the system operates efficiently over time is the correct understanding of the Maintenance stage in the SDLC.

The other options, while relevant to different aspects of system management, do not encapsulate the primary focus of the Maintenance stage. Initiating new features and upgrading hardware are typically associated with later stages of the SDLC, while training end-users would occur earlier during the implementation or deployment phases, rather than in maintenance.