What is Software Engineering

1
What is Software Engineering?
2
Overview

• To frame our discussion, consider
• What perspectives of software development best
  capture the nature of the activity?
• What are the characteristics of software that
  make it both vital and problematic?
• What are the characteristics of software
  engineering as a discipline?

3
Outline

• History Lesson
• Disciplinary Evolution
• Software Development
• Process and Product Views
• Concerns
• Factors to Consider

4
History
5
Disciplinary Evolution
6
Codification of Practice
7
Current Activity

• SWEBOK
• http//www.swebok.org/
• ACM and IEEE-CS Project
• to develop the Computing Curricula Software
  Engineering Volume (CCSE)
• Certification
• Certified software development professional -
  http//www.computer.org/certification/

8
Definition

• The application of a systematic, disciplined,
  quantifiable approach to the development,
  operation and maintenance of software.
• (IEEE 610.12, 1991)

9
Software Development (1)
Customer Driven
Customer
Needs
User
contract
Needs
System
Developer
From Pfleeger Software Engineering Theory and
Practice.
10
Software Development (2)
Market Driven
Customer/User
Customer/User
Customer/User
Needs
System
11
Process and Product (1)

• In thinking about the process of developing
  software, we must consider
• Who is involved? What roles do individuals have?
• How many individuals are involved?
• What are the tasks? How are tasks
  allocated to people?
• What are the characteristics of those engaged in
  a given task?
• Is the a match between the characteristics
  of the individual and the task?
• How is the process managed, coordinated,
  controlled?
• What are the work products produced during
  development?
• How long do the various tasks take? How do
  we know a task is complete?
• Are there tasks that can be performed
  concurrently?
• What communications support is required?

12
Process and Product (2)

• In thinking about the product resulting from the
  development activity, we must consider
• What is the functionality provided?
• What are the intended use(s) of the
  product?
• What expectations does the customer have
  for the product?
• Is the product operating reasonably in the
  use environment?
• What considerations are there for system
  reliability?
• How will the product be maintained over
  time?
• What performance characteristics do the
  various functions need?
• How does the system interface with the
  users?
• Are the resources involved with system use
  being used wisely?
• How many defects are present in the
  product?
• What quality attributes have been assigned
  to this product?
• How should quality attributes be quantified?

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Best Practices
Formal Risk Management Users Manual as
Specification Inspections and Reviews Metrics-Base
d Scheduling Binary Quality Gates at the
Inch-Pebble Level Program-Wide Visibility of
Progress Defect Tracking Against Quality
Targets Separate Specification for
HW/SW Configuration Management People-Aware
Management Accountability
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Concerns

• 1. Programming-in-the-large where multi-person
  teams work for several years specifying and
  implementing a system.
• 2. The systems of today are not programs, they
  are collections of programs possibly written in a
  variety of languages running on a variety of
  platforms.
• 3. Software development requires the
  collaboration and communication of individuals
  that may be separated by time and space.
• 4. The efficiency with which the software is
  produced is as important as the efficiency of the
  product itself.
• 5. Solving the right problem!

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Factors

• People
• Process
• Product
• Project
• Problem