Int 2

Why Software Engineering?
• Software development is hard !

• Important to distinguish “easy” systems (one
developer, one user, experimental use only) from
“hard” systems (multiple developers, multiple users,
products)
• Experience with “easy” systems is misleading
• One person techniques do not scale up
• Analogy with bridge building:
• Over a stream = easy, one person job
• Over River Severn … ? (the techniques do not scale)
Why Software Engineering ?
• The problem is complexity
• Many sources, but size is key:
• UNIX contains 4 million lines of code
• Windows 2000 contains 108 lines of code
Software engineering is about managing this

complexity.
FAQs about software engineering
• What is
• software?
• software process?
• software engineering?
• software process model?
• What is software engineering?

• What is the difference
• between software engineering and computer science?
• between software engineering and system engineering?
What is software?
• Computer programs and associated documentation
• Software products may be developed for a particular

customer or may be developed for a general market
• Software products may be
• Generic - developed to be sold to a range of different
customers
• Bespoke (custom) - developed for a single customer according
to their specification
What is software engineering?
Software engineering is an engineering discipline which is
concerned with all aspects of software production
Software engineers should

• adopt a systematic and organised approach to their work
• use appropriate tools and techniques depending on
• the problem to be solved,
• the development constraints and
• the resources available
What is the difference between software
engineering and computer science?
Computer Science Software Engineering

is concerned with
 theory  the practicalities of developing
 fundamentals  delivering useful software
Computer science theories are currently insufficient to act as

a complete underpinning for software engineering, BUT it is
a foundation for practical aspects of software engineering
What is the difference between software
engineering and system engineering?
• Software engineering is part of System engineering

• System engineering is concerned with all aspects of
computer-based systems development including
• hardware,
• software and
• process engineering
• System engineers are involved in
system specification,
architectural design,
integration and deployment
What is a software process?
• A set of activities whose goal is the development or

evolution of software
• Generic activities in all software processes are:
• Specification - what the system should do and its
development constraints
• Development - production of the software system
• Validation - checking that the software is what the customer
wants
• Evolution - changing the software in response to changing
demands
What is a software process model?
A simplified representation of a software process,
presented from a specific perspective
• Examples of process perspectives:
Workflow perspective represents inputs, outputs and dependencies
Data-flow perspective represents data transformation activities
Role/action perspective represents the roles/activities of the
people involved in software process
• Generic process models
• Waterfall
• Evolutionary development
• Formal transformation
• Integration from reusable components
What are the costs of software
engineering?
• Roughly 60% of costs are development costs,
40% are testing costs. For custom software, evolution
costs often exceed development costs
• Costs vary depending on the type of system being

developed and the requirements of system attributes
such as performance and system reliability
• Distribution of costs depends on the development

model that is used
What is CASE ?
(Computer-Aided Software Engineering)
Software systems which are intended to provide

automated support for software process activities, such
as requirements analysis, system modelling, debugging
and testing
• Upper-CASE
• Tools to support the early process activities
of requirements and design
• Lower-CASE
• Tools to support later activities such as programming,
debugging and testing
What are the attributes of good
software?
The software should deliver the required functionality
and performance to the user and should be
maintainable, dependable and usable
• Maintainability
• Software must evolve to meet changing needs
• Dependability
• Software must be trustworthy
• Efficiency
• Software should not make wasteful use of system resources
• Usability
• Software must be usable by the users for which it was designed
What are the key challenges
facing software engineering?
Software engineering in the 21st century faces three key
challenges:
• Legacy systems
• Old, valuable systems must be maintained and updated
• Heterogeneity
• Systems are distributed and include
a mix of hardware and software
• Delivery
• There is increasing pressure
for faster delivery of software

Int 2

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Why Software Engineering?

• Software development is hard !

Software engineering is about managing this

• What is software engineering?

• Software products may be developed for a particular

Software engineers should

Computer Science Software Engineering

Computer science theories are currently insufficient to act as

• Software engineering is part of System engineering

• A set of activities whose goal is the development or

• Costs vary depending on the type of system being

• Distribution of costs depends on the development

Software systems which are intended to provide

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