"The degree to which a system or component is operational and accessible when required for use" is the definition for which term?

Question

Options

• AReliability
• BAvailability
• CServiceability
• DMaintainability

• A
  5% (3)
• B
  84% (48)
• C
  2% (1)
• D
  9% (5)

Explanation

Availability (B) matches the definition exactly - it measures whether a system is up and accessible at the moment it's needed, typically expressed as a percentage of uptime (e.g., 99.9% availability).

The distractors each describe related but distinct concepts: Reliability (A) refers to how consistently a system performs its intended function over time without failure - it's about failure frequency, not just uptime. Maintainability (D) describes how easily a system can be repaired or modified after a failure. Serviceability (C) is often treated as a subset of maintainability, focusing specifically on how easily a system can be diagnosed and serviced by support personnel.

Memory tip: Think of "availability" as the answer to "Is it available right now?" - if the system is up and you can use it, it's available. Reliability answers "Does it fail often?" and maintainability answers "Can we fix it quickly?" - all related, but only availability is about access at the moment required.

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