Unit 1

Software Engineering
Fundamentals
Contents
Nature of Software
Software Engineering Principles
Software Process
Software Myths
Software engineering
The economies of ALL developed nations are dependent on
software

More and more systems are software controlled

Software engineering is concerned with theories, methods

and tools for professional software development.

Expenditure on software represents a significant fraction

of GDP in all developed countries.
 FAQs about software
engineering
⚫ What is software?
⚫ What is software engineering?
⚫ What is the difference between software engineering and
computer science?
⚫ What is the difference between software engineering and
system engineering?
⚫ What is a software process?
⚫ What is a software process model?
 FAQs about software
engineering
⚫ What are the costs of software engineering?
⚫ What are software engineering methods?
⚫ What is CASE (Computer-Aided Software Engineering)
⚫ What are the attributes of good software?
⚫ What are the key challenges facing software engineering?
 What is software?
⚫ Computer programs and associated documentation such as
requirements, design models and user manuals.
⚫ 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 e.g. PC software such as Excel or Word.
Custom - developed for a single customer according to
their specification.
⚫ New software can be created by developing new programs,
configuring generic software systems or reusing existing
software.
What is Software?
Software is a set of items or objects that form a
“configuration” that includes
programs
documents
data
 Software’s Dual Role
⚫ Software is a product
Delivers computing potential
Produces, manages, acquires, modifies, displays, or
transmits information
⚫ Software is a vehicle for delivering a product
Supports or directly provides system functionality
Controls other programs (e.g., an operating system)
Effects communications (e.g., networking software)
Helps build other software (e.g., software tools)
Wear vs.
Deterioration
 What is software engineering?
⚫ Software engineering is an engineering discipline that is
concerned with all aspects of software production.
⚫ Software engineers should adopt a systematic and
organised approach to their work and use appropriate
tools and techniques depending on the problem to be
solved, the development constraints and the resources
available.
 Software Engineering Vs
Computer Science?
⚫ Computer science is concerned with theory and
fundamentals; software engineering is concerned with the
practicalities of developing and delivering useful software.
⚫ Computer science theories are still insufficient to act as a
complete foundation for software engineering (unlike e.g.
physics and electrical engineering).
 Software Engineering Vs
System Engineering?
⚫ System engineering is concerned with all aspects of
computer-based systems development including hardware,
software and process engineering. Software engineering is
part of this process concerned with developing the
software infrastructure, control, applications and
databases in the system.
⚫ 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 are
Workflow perspective - sequence of activities;
Data-flow perspective - information flow;
Role/action perspective - who does what.
⚫ Generic process models
Waterfall;
Iterative development;
Component-based software engineering.
 What are software
engineering methods?
⚫ Structured approaches to software development which
include system models, notations, rules, design advice and
process guidance.
⚫ Model descriptions
Descriptions of graphical models which should be
produced;
⚫ Rules
Constraints applied to system models;
⚫ Recommendations
Advice on good design practice;
⚫ Process guidance
What activities to follow.
 Attributes of good software
⚫ The software should deliver the required functionality and
performance to the user and should be maintainable,
dependable and acceptable.
⚫ Maintainability
Software must evolve to meet changing needs;
⚫ Dependability
Software must be trustworthy;
⚫ Efficiency
Software should not make wasteful use of system
resources;
⚫ Acceptability
Software must accepted by the users for which it was
designed. This means it must be understandable, usable
and compatible with other systems.
 Key challenges facing
software engineering
⚫ Heterogeneity, delivery and trust.
⚫ Heterogeneity
Developing techniques for building software that can
cope with heterogeneous platforms and execution
environments;
⚫ Delivery
Developing techniques that lead to faster delivery of
software;
⚫ Trust
Developing techniques that demonstrate that software
can be trusted by its users.
Software
Applications
⚫ system software
⚫ application software
⚫ engineering/scientific software
⚫ embedded software
⚫ product-line software
⚫ WebApps (Web applications)
⚫ AI software
Software—New Categories
⚫ Ubiquitous computing—wireless networks
⚫ Netsourcing—the Web as a computing engine
⚫ Open source—”free” source code open to the
computing community (a blessing, but also a potential
curse!)
⚫ Data mining
⚫ Grid computing
⚫ Cognitive machines
⚫ Software for nanotechnologies
Legacy Software
⚫ Software must be adapted to meet the needs of
new computing environments or technology.
⚫ Software must be enhanced to implement new
business requirements.
⚫ Software must be extended to make it
interoperable with other more modern systems
or databases.
⚫ Software must be re-architected to make it
viable within a network environment.
 Software Myths
⚫ It affects managers, customers (and other non-technical
stakeholders) and practitioners
⚫ These are believable because they often have elements of
truth, but invariably lead to bad decisions,
⚫ Therefore, it insists on reality as you navigate your way
through software engineering
Management
Myths
⚫ Myth : We already have a book that's full of standards and
procedures for building software. Won't that provide my
people with everything they need to know ?
⚫ Reality : The book of standards may very well exist, but is
it used ? Are software practitioners aware of its existence ?
Does it reflect modern software development practice ? Is
it complete ? In many cases, the answer to all of these
questions is "no".

⚫ Myth : My people do have state-of-the-art software

development tools, after all, we buy them from the newest
computers.
⚫ Reality : It takes much more than the latest model
mainframe, workstation, or PC to do high quality software
development.
 Management
Myths
⚫ Myth : If we get behind schedule, we can add more
programmers and catch up.
⚫ Reality : Software development is not a mechanistic
process like manufacturing. However, as new people are
added, people who were working must spend time
educating the newcomers, thereby reducing the amount of
time spent on productive development effort.
Customer Myths
⚫ Myth : A general statement of objectives is sufficient to
begin writing programs.
⚫ Reality : Poor-up-front definition is the major cause of
failed software efforts. A formal and detailed description
of information domain, function, performance, interfaces,
design constraints, and validation criteria is essential.

⚫ Myth : Project requirements continuously change, but

change can be easily accommodated because software is
flexible.
⚫ Reality : It is true that software requirements do change,
but the impact of change varies with the time at which it is
introduced.
 Practitioner
Myths
⚫ Myth: Software engineering will make us create
voluminous and unnecessary documentation and will
invariably slow us down.
⚫ Reality: Software engineering is not about creating
documents. It is about creating a quality product. Better
quality leads to reduced rework. And reduced rework
results in faster delivery times.

⚫ Myth : Once the program is written and running, my job is

done.
⚫ Reality : Someone once said that “the sooner you begin
‘writing code,’ the longer it’ll take you to get done.”
Industry data indicate that between 60 and 80 percent of
all effort expended on software will be expended after it is
delivered to the customer for the first time.
 Practitioner Myths
⚫ Myth : Until a program is running, there's no way of
assessing its quality.
⚫ Reality: One of the most effective software quality
assurance mechanisms can be applied from the inception
of a project—the technical review. Software reviews are a
“quality filter” that have been found to be more effective
than testing for finding certain classes of software defects.

⚫ Myth : The only deliverable for a software project is a

working program.
⚫ Reality: A working program is only one part of a software
configuration that includes many elements. A variety of
work products (e.g., models, documents, plans) provide a
foundation for successful engineering and, more
important, guidance for software support.