  The software is changing rapidly with the invention of advanced technologies
and methodologies. The ability to rapidly and successfully upgrade software in
response to changing business requirements is more vital than ever. For the
long-term management of software products, measuring software maintainability
is crucial. The use of soft computing techniques for software maintainability
prediction has shown immense promise in software maintenance process by
providing accurate prediction of software maintainability. To better understand
the role of soft computing techniques for software maintainability prediction,
we aim to provide a systematic literature review of soft computing techniques
for software maintainability prediction. Firstly, we provide a detailed
overview of software maintainability. Following this, we explore the
fundamentals of software maintainability and the reasons for adopting soft
computing methodologies for predicting software maintainability. Later, we
examine the soft computing approaches employed in the process of software
maintainability prediction. Furthermore, we discuss the difficulties and
potential solutions associated with the use of soft computing techniques to
predict software maintainability. Finally, we conclude the review with some
promising future directions to drive further research innovations and
developments in this promising area.
