'Software engineering' is the 'application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable' approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of
software.
[1] The term ''software engineering'' was popularized during the (held in
Garmisch,
Germany) by its chairman
F.L. Bauer, and has been in widespread use since. The discipline of software engineering encompasses knowledge, tools, and methods for defining software
requirements, and performing
software design,
software construction,
software testing, and
software maintenance tasks.
[2] Software engineering also draws on knowledge from fields such as
computer engineering,
computer science,
management,
mathematics,
project management,
quality management, software
ergonomics, and
systems engineering.
[2]
As of 2004, the
U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 760,840 software engineers holding jobs in the
U.S.; for comparison, in the U.S. there are some 1.4 million practitioners employed in all other engineering disciplines combined.
[4] The term software engineer is used very liberally in the corporate world. Very few of the practicing software engineers actually hold engineering degrees from accredited universities. There are estimated to be about 1.5 million practitioners in the
E.U.,
Asia, and elsewhere.
SE pioneers include
Barry Boehm,
Fred Brooks,
C. A. R. Hoare, and
David Parnas.
Nature
David Parnas has said that software engineering is, in fact, a form of engineering.
[5].
[6] Steve McConnell has said that it is not, but that it should be.
[7] Donald Knuth has said that programming is an art and a science.
[8]
The
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies ''computer software engineers'' as a subcategory of "computer specialists", along with occupations such as computer scientist, programmer, and network administrator.
[9] The BLS classifies all other engineering disciplines, including computer hardware engineers, as "engineers".
[10]
The U.K. has seen the alignment of the Information Technology Professional and the Engineering Professionals.
[11] Software engineering in Canada has seen some contests in the courts over the use of the title "Software Engineer"
[12]
Definition
Typical formal definitions of software engineering are
★ "the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of
software".
[1]
★ "an engineering discipline that is concerned with all aspects of software production"
[14]
★ "the establishment and use of sound engineering principles in order to economically obtain software that is reliable and works efficiently on real machines"
[15]
Other meanings
As
Dijkstra pointed out, the terms ''software engineering'' and ''software engineer'' have, at times, also been misused in a much wider sense, particularly in America.
[16] The term has been used less formally:
★ as the informal contemporary term for the broad range of activities that was formerly called
programming and
systems analysis;
[17]
★ as the broad term for all aspects of the ''practice'' of computer programming, as opposed to the ''theory'' of computer programming, which is called
computer science;
[18]
★ as the term embodying the ''advocacy'' of a specific approach to computer programming, one that urges that it be treated as an
engineering discipline rather than an art or a craft, and advocates the codification of recommended practices in the form of ''
software engineering methodologies.''
[19]
Purpose
Software is often found in products and situations where very high reliability is expected, even under demanding conditions, such as monitoring and controlling nuclear power plants, or keeping a modern airliner aloft
[20]. Such applications contain millions of
lines of code, making them comparable in complexity to the most complex modern machines. For example, a modern airliner has several million physical parts
[21] (and the space shuttle about ten million parts
[22]), while the software for such an airliner can run to 4 million lines of code.
[23]
Technologies and practices
Main articles: Software development process
Software engineers advocate many different technologies and practices, with much disagreement, which has originated a debate that has gone on for over 60 years. Software engineers use a wide variety of technologies: compilers, code repositories, text editors. They also use a wide variety of practices to carry out and coordinate their efforts:
pair programming, code reviews and daily stand up meetings.
In spite of the enormous economic growth and productivity gains enabled by software, persistent complaints about the quality of software remain.
The software engineering profession
Debate over the term 'engineering'
Some people believe that ''software development'' is a more appropriate term than ''software engineering'' for the process of creating software.
Pete McBreen, (author of "
Software Craftsmanship: The New Imperative" (ISBN 0-201-73386-2)), argues that the term Software Engineering implies levels of rigor and proven processes that are not appropriate for all types of software development. He argues strongly for 'craftsmanship' as a more appropriate metaphor because that term brings into sharper focus the skills of the developer as the key to success instead of the "manufacturing" process. Using a more traditional comparison, just as not everyone who works in
construction is a
civil engineer, not everyone who can write
code is a software engineer.
Some people dispute the notion that the field is mature enough to warrant the title "engineering". In each of the last few decades, at least one radical new approach has entered the mainstream of software development (e.g.
Structured Programming,
Object Orientation, ... ), implying that the field is still changing too rapidly to be considered an engineering discipline. Other people would argue that the supposedly radical new approaches are actually evolutionary rather than revolutionary, the mere introduction of new tools rather than fundamental changes.
Education
People from many different educational backgrounds make important contributions to SE. Today, software engineers earn software engineering, computer engineering or computer science degrees. However, there are a great number of people in the industry without engineering degrees earned from accredited universities, so the use of the term "software engineer" is somewhat ambiguous.
; Software degrees in the U.S. and Canada: About half of all practitioners today have
computer science degrees. A small, but growing, number of practitioners have software engineering
degrees. In 1996,
Rochester Institute of Technology established the first
BSSE degree program in the United States but did not obtain
ABET until 2003, the same time as
Clarkson University,
Milwaukee School of Engineering and
Mississippi State University [24] . Since then, software engineering undergraduate degrees have been established at many universities. A standard international curriculum for undergraduate software engineering degrees was recently defined by the
CCSE.
As of 2004, in the U.S., about 50 universities offer software engineering degrees, which teach both computer science and engineering principles and practices. The first graduate software engineering degree (MSSE) was established at
Seattle University in 1979. Since then graduate software engineering degrees have been made available from many more universities. Likewise in Canada, the
Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) of the
Canadian Council of Professional Engineers has recognized software engineering programs in engineering faculties such as
McMaster University, the
University of Waterloo, the
University of Ottawa and the
University of Western Ontario since 2001.
[25][26]
:In 1998, the prestigious US
Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) established the first doctoral program in Software Engineering in the world. As of the beginning of 2006, thirteen students had graduated from the program and assumed senior-level leadership roles in the
Department of Defense research and development community.
; Domain degrees: Some practitioners have degrees in application domains, bringing important domain knowledge and experience to projects. In
MIS, some practitioners have business degrees. In
embedded systems, some practitioners have
electrical or
computer engineering degrees, because embedded software often requires a detailed understanding of hardware. In medical software, some practitioners have
medical informatics, general medical, or biology degrees.
; Other degrees: Some practitioners have
mathematics,
science,
engineering, or other technical degrees. Some have
philosophy (logic in particular) or other non-technical degrees. And, some have no degrees. For instance,
Barry Boehm earned degrees in
mathematics.
Employment
:''See also:
software engineering demographics''
Most software engineers work as employees or contractors. Software engineers work with businesses, government agencies (civilian or military), and non-profit organizations. Some software engineers work for themselves as
freelancers. Some organizations have specialists to perform each of the tasks in the
software development process. Other organizations required software engineers to do many or all of them. In large projects, people may specialize in only one role. In small projects, people may fill several or all roles at the same time. Specializations include: in industry (
analysts,
architects,
developers,
testers,
technical support,
managers) and in academia (
educators,
researchers).
There is considerable debate over the future employment prospects for Software Engineers and other
IT Professionals. For example, an online futures market called the
Future of IT Jobs in America attempts to answer whether there will be more IT jobs, including software engineers, in 2012 than there were in
2002.
Certification
Certification of software engineers is a contentious issue. Some see it as a tool to improve
professional practice.
Most successful certification programs in the software industry are oriented toward specific technologies, and are managed by the vendors of these technologies. These certification programs are tailored to the institutions that would employ people who use these technologies.
The
ACM had a professional certification program in the early 1980s, which was discontinued due to lack of interest.
As of 2006, the
IEEE had certified over 575 software professionals.
[27] In Canada the
Canadian Information Processing Society has developed a legally recognized professional certification called ''Information Systems Professional (ISP)''.
[28]
Impact of globalization
Many students in the developed world have avoided degrees related to software engineering because of the fear of
offshore outsourcing (importing software products or services from other countries) and of being displaced by
foreign visa workers [3]. Although government statistics do not currently show a threat to software engineering itself; a related career,
computer programming does appear to have been affected
[4][5]. Often one is expected to start out as a computer programmer before being promoted to software engineer. Thus, the career path to software engineering may be rough, especially during recessions.
Some career counselors suggest a student also focus on "people skills" and business skills rather than purely technical skills because such "soft skills" are allegedly more difficult to offshore
[6]. It is the quasi-management aspects of software engineering that appear to be what has kept it from being impacted by globalization.
[7]
Comparing related fields
Main articles: Comparing software engineering and related fields
Many fields are closely related to software engineering; here are some key similarities and distinctions. Comparing SE with other fields helps explain what SE is and helps define what SE might or should become. There is considerable debate over which fields SE most resembles (or should most resemble). These complex and inexact comparisons explain why some see software engineering as its own field.
History
Main articles: History of software engineering
Software engineering has a long evolving history. Both the tools that are used and the applications that are written have evolved over time. It seems likely that software engineering will continue evolving for many decades to come.
60 year time line
★ 1940s: First computer users wrote machine code by hand.
★ 1950s: Early tools, such as macro assemblers and interpreters were created and widely used to improve productivity and quality. First-generation optimizing compilers.
★ 1960s: Second generation tools like optimizing compilers and inspections were being used to improve productivity and quality. The concept of software engineering was widely discussed. First really big (1000 programmer) projects. Commercial mainframes and custom software for big business. The influential was held.
★ 1970s: Collaborative software tools, such as
Unix, code repositories, make, and so on.
Minicomputers and the rise of small business software.
★ 1980s:
Personal computers and personal workstations became common. Commensurate rise of consumer software.
★ 1990s:
Object-oriented programming and
agile processes like
Extreme programming gained mainstream acceptance. Computer memory capacity sky-rocketed and prices dropped drastically. These new technologies allowed software to grow more complex. The
WWW and hand-held computers made software even more widely available.
★ 2000s:
Managed code and interpreted platforms such as
Java,
.NET,
Ruby,
Python and
PHP made writing software easier than ever before.
Offshore outsourcing changed the nature and focus of software engineering careers.
Current trends in software engineering
Software engineering is a young discipline, and is still developing. The directions in which software engineering is developing include:
; Aspects:
Aspects help software engineers deal with ''-
ilities'' by providing tools to add or remove
boilerplate code from many areas in the
source code. Aspects describe how all objects or functions should behave in particular circumstances. For example,
aspects can add
debugging,
logging, or
locking control into all objects of particular types. Researchers are currently working to understand how to use aspects to design general-purpose code. Related concepts include
generative programming and
templates.
; Agile:
Agile software development guides
software development projects that evolve rapidly with changing
expectations and competitive markets. Proponents of this method believe that heavy, document-driven processes (like
TickIT,
CMM and
ISO 9000) are fading in importance. Some people believe that companies and agencies export many of the jobs that can be guided by heavy-weight processes. Related concepts include
Extreme Programming and
Lean software development.
; Experimental:
Experimental software engineering is a branch of software engineering interested in devising
experiments on software, in collecting data from the experiments, and in devising laws and theories from this data. Proponents of this method advocate that the nature of software is such that we can advance the knowledge on software through experiments only.
; Model-driven:
Model Driven Software Development uses (both textual and graphical) models as primary development artifacts. By means of
model transformation and
code generation a part or complete applications are generated.
; Software Product Lines:
Software Product Lines is a systematic way to produce ''families'' of software systems, instead of creating a succession of completely individual products. This method emphasizes extensive, systematic, formal
code reuse, to try to industrialize the software development process.
The ''
Future of Software Engineering'' conference (FOSE), held at ICSE 2000, documented the state of the art of SE in 2000 and listed many problems to be solved over the next decade. The FOSE tracks at the
ICSE 2000 and the
ICSE 2007 conferences also help identify the state of the art in software engineering.
The
Feyerabend project attempts to discover the future of software engineering by seeking and publishing innovative ideas.
Software engineering today
In 2006, Money Magazine and Salary.com rated software engineering as the best job in America in terms of growth, pay, stress levels, flexibility in hours and working environment, creativity, and how easy it is to enter and advance in the field.
[29]
See also
software engineering economics.
Conferences, organizations and publications
Conferences
Several academic conferences devoted to software engineering are held every year. There are also many other academic conferences every year devoted to special topics within SE, such as programming languages, requirements, testing, and so on.
:; ICSE: The biggest and oldest conference devoted to software engineering is the
International Conference on Software Engineering. This conference meets every year to discuss improvements in research, education, and practice.
:; COMPSAC: The
Annual International Computer Software and Applications Conference was first held in Chicago in 1977 and is designated as the IEEE Computer Society signature conference on software technology and applications.
:; ESEC: The
European Software Engineering Conference.
:; FSE: The
Foundations of Software Engineering conference is held every year, alternating between Europe and North America. It emphasizes theoretical and foundational issues.
:; CUSEC: Conferences dedicated to inform undergraduate students like the annual
Canadian University Software Engineering Conference are also very promising for the future generation. It is completely organized by undergraduate students and lets different Canadian universities interested in Software Engineering host the conference each year. Past guests include
Kent Beck,
Joel Spolsky,
Philippe Kruchten,
Hal Helms,
Craig Larman,
David Parnas as well as university professors and students.
:; SEPG: The annual
Software Engineering Process Group conference, sponsored by the
Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute (SEI), is a conference and exhibit showcase for systems and software engineering professionals. The four-day event emphasizes systematic improvement of people,
processes, and technology.
:; INFORMATICS-INFORMATIQUE: The annual Canadian information technology, data processing and software engineering symposium, sponsored by the
Canadian Information Processing Society. First held in
1958.
:; ICALEPS: International Conference on Accelerator and Large Experimental Physics Control Systems Conference
[8]. Biennial conference covering software engineering for large scale scientific control systems. First held in
1987.
:; APSEC: Asia Pacific Software Engineering Conference
[9].
:; UYMS: National Software Engineering Symposium (in Turkish: Ulusal Yazilim Muhendisligi Sempozyumu)
[10] (not available in English). Biennial symposium first held in
İzmir,
Turkey in
2003.
Organizations
★
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
★
Australian Computer Society (ACS)
★
British Computer Society (BCS)
★
Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) -
Information Systems Professional certification.
★
IEEE Computer Society
★
Lero, the Irish Software Engineering Research Centre
★
Russian Software Developers Association (RUSSOFT)
★
Software Association of Oregon (SAO)
★
Software Engineering Institute (SEI)
★
Software Industry Professionals
★
The Safety and Reliability Society
Publications
★
Important publications in software engineering
★
CrossTalk: The Journal of Defense Software Engineering
See also
:''Main lists:
List of basic software engineering topics and
List of software engineering topics''
★
Association for Computing Machinery
★
Computer Science
★
Custom software development
★
Informatics
★
Search Based Software Engineering
★
Software development
★
Software Quality Assurance
★
System testing
★
Software Assurance
★
Software System Safety
★
Structured analysis
★
Systems Analyst
★
User experience
References
1. “IEEE Standard Glossary of Software Engineering Terminology,” IEEE std 610.12-1990, 1990.
2. Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge
3. Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge
4. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, [ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/news.release/ocwage.txt ''USDL 05-2145: Occupational Employment and Wages, November 2004''], Table 1.
5. Software Engineering Programmes are not Computer Science Programmes, , David L., Parnas, Annals of Software Engineering, 1998 , p. 19: "Rather than treat software engineering as a subfield of
computer science, I treat it as an element of the set, {Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering,
Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering,....}."
6. Software Engineering Programmes are not Computer Science Programmes, , David L., Parnas, Annals of Software Engineering, 1998 , p. 20: "This paper argues that the introduction of accredited professional programmes in software engineering, programmes that are modelled on programmes in traditional engineering disciplines will help to increase both the quality and quantity of graduates who are well prepared, by their education, to develop trustworthy software products."
7. Professional Software Development: Shorter Schedules, Better Projects, Superior Products, Enhanced Careers, , Steve, McConnell, Addison-Wesley, 2003, ISBN 0-321-19367-9 , p. 39: "In my opinion, the
answer to that question is clear: Professional software development should be engineering. Is it? No. But should it be? Unquestionably, yes. "
8. Computer Programming as an Art, , Donald, Knuth, Communications of the ACM, 1974 Transcript of the 1974 Turing Award lecture.
9. U.S Department of Labor and Statistics ''The 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System: 15-0000 Computer and Mathematical Occupations''
10. U.S Department of Labor and Statistics ''The 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System: 17-0000 Architecture and Engineering Occupations''
11. 'British Computer Society' - "BCS is licensed by the Engineering Council to award Chartered Engineer status (CEng) and Incorporated Engineer status (IEng);" [1]
12. 'Professional Engineers of Ontario' - "Quebec Engineers win court battle against Microsoft"[2]
13. “IEEE Standard Glossary of Software Engineering Terminology,” IEEE std 610.12-1990, 1990.
14. Software Engineering, , Ian, Sommerville, Pearson Education, 2007,
15. Ubiquitously cited as a quote from F.L. Bauer at the original NATO Conference on Software Engineering, the usual citation being:
16. There is still a war going on (manuscript Austin, 3 December 1993)
17. Engineering an Academic Program in Software Engineering Akram I. Salah : "For some, software engineering is just a glorified name for programming. If you are a programmer, you might put 'software engineer' on your business card—never 'programmer' though."
18. Mills, Harlan D., J. R. Newman, and C. B. Engle, Jr., "An Undergraduate Curriculum in Software Engineering," in Software Engineering Education: SEI Conference 1990, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, April 2-3,..., , Lionel E., Deimel, Springer, 1990, ISBN 0-387-97274-9 , p. 26: "As a practical matter, we regard software engineering as the necessary preparation for the practicing, software development and maintenance professional. The Computer Scientist is preparing for further theoretical studies..."
19. Realizing Evidence-based Software Engineering David Budgen, Pearl Brereton, Barbara Kitchenham, Stephen Linkman : "We believe that software engineering can only advance as an engineering discipline by moving away from its current dependence upon advocacy and analysis...."
20. Product Reliability, Maintainability, and Supportability Handbook, , Michael, Pecht, CRC Press, 1995, ISBN 0-8493-9457-0
21. Boeing 747, By the Numbers "Six million: the number of parts, half of which are fasteners."
22. Technology and Global Change, , Arnulf, Grübler, Cambridge University Press, 2003, ISBN 0-521-54332-0 p. 33: "A Boeing 747 [contains] roughly 3.5 million [parts]... the apogee (and nightmare) of mechanical complexity is the space shuttle, with 10 million parts."
23. Software Development for the Boeing 777, , Ronald J., Pehrson, CrossTalk: The Journal of Defense Software Engineering, 1996 , "The 2.5 million lines of newly developed software were approximately six times more than any previous Boeing commercial airplane development program. Including commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and optional software, the total size is more than 4 million lines of code."
24. ABET Accredited Engineering Programs
25. CEAB accredits first software programs PEO
26. Software Engineering Syllabus - 2004 CCPE
27. 2006 IEEE COMPUTER SOCIETY REPORT TO THE IFIP GENERAL ASSEMBLY IEEE Computer Society
28. I.S.P. Designation Canadian Information Processing Society
29. Best Jobs in America , "MONEY Magazine and Salary.com researched hundreds of jobs, considering their growth, pay, stress-levels and other factors. These careers ranked highest. 1. Software Engineer..."
Further reading
★
Software Engineering, , Ian, Sommerville, Pearson Education, 2007,
★
Software Engineering: A Practitioner's Approach, , Roger S, Pressman, McGraw-Hill, 2005,
★ Carlo Ghezzi, Mehdi Jazayeri, Dino Mandrioli: ''Fundamentals of Software Engineering'', 2nd (International) ed.: 2003 (1st ed.: 1991), Pearson Education @ Prentice-Hall
External links
★
Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge
★
Computer Software Engineers - Definition and statistics from the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
★
Big Ball of Mud A "yes but why not" point of view by Brian Foote and Joseph Yoder, Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
★
Software Engineering Radio A podcast on software engineering
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