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
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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 and use appropriate tools and
techniques depending on the problem to be
solved, the development constraints and the
resources available
2

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
Evolutionary development
Formal transformation
Integration from reusable components

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

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?
Coping with legacy systems, coping with increasing
diversity and coping with demands for reduced delivery
times
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

The software process

A structured set of activities required to develop a
software system

Specification
Design
Validation
Evolution

A software process model is an abstract

representation of a process. It presents a
description of a process from some particular
perspective
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Generic software process

models
The waterfall model
Separate and distinct phases of specification and
development
Evolutionary development
Specification and development are interleaved
Formal systems development
A mathematical system model is formally
transformed to an implementation
Reuse-based development
The system is assembled from existing components

Waterfall model
Requirements
definition
System and
software design
Implementation
and unit testing
Integr ation and
system testing
Operation and
maintenance

10

Waterfall model phases

Requirements analysis and definition

System and software design
Implementation and unit testing
Integration and system testing
Operation and maintenance
The drawback of the waterfall model is
the difficulty of accommodating change
after the process is underway
11

Waterfall model problems

Inflexible partitioning of the project into
distinct stages
This makes it difficult to respond to
changing customer requirements
Therefore, this model is only
appropriate when the requirements are
well-understood
12

Evolutionary development
Exploratory development
Objective is to work with customers and to
evolve a final system from an initial outline
specification. Should start with wellunderstood requirements

Throw-away prototyping
Objective is to understand the system
requirements. Should start with poorly
understood requirements
13

Evolutionary development
Concurr ent
activities

Outline
description

Specification

Initial
version

Development

Intermediate
versions

Validation

Final
version

14

Evolutionary development
Problems
Lack of process visibility
Systems are often poorly structured
Special skills (e.G. In languages for rapid
prototyping) may be required

Applicability
For small or medium-size interactive systems
For parts of large systems (e.G. The user
interface)
For short-lifetime systems
15

Formal systems development

Based on the transformation of a
mathematical specification through different
representations to an executable program
Transformations are correctness-preserving
so it is straightforward to show that the
program conforms to its specification
Embodied in the Cleanroom approach to
software development
16

Use of formal methods

Formal methods have limited practical
applicability
Their principal benefits are in reducing
the number of errors in systems so their
main area of applicability is critical
systems
In this area, the use of formal methods
is most likely to be cost-effective
17

Formal systems development

Requirements
definition

Formal
specification

Formal
transformation

Integration and
system testing

18

Use of formal specification

Formal specification involves investing more
effort in the early phases of software
development
This reduces requirements errors as it forces a
detailed analysis of the requirements
Incompleteness and inconsistencies can be
discovered and resolved
Hence, savings as made as the amount of
rework due to requirements problems is
reduced
19

List specification
LIST ( Elem )
sort List
imports INTEGER
Defines a list where elements are added at the end and remo ved
from the front. The oper ations are Create, which brings an empty list
into existence, Cons, which creates a new list with an added member ,
Length, which evaluates the list size, Head, which evaluates the front
element of the list, and Tail, which creates a list by removing the head from its
input list. Undefined represents an undefined value of type Elem.
Create List
Cons (List, Elem) List
Head (List) Elem
Length (List) Integer
Tail (List) List
Head (Create) = Undefined exception (empty list)
Head (Cons (L, v)) = if L = Create then v else Head (L)
Length (Create) = 0
Length (Cons (L, v)) = Length (L) + 1
Tail (Create ) = Create
Tail (Cons (L, v)) = if L = Create then Create else Cons (Tail (L), v)

20

Formal transformations
Formal transformations
T1

Formal
specification

T2

R1

P1

T3

R2

P2

T4

Executable
program

R3

P3

P4

Proofs of transformation correctness

21

Formal systems development

Problems
Need for specialised skills and training to
apply the technique
Difficult to formally specify some aspects of
the system such as the user interface

Applicability
Critical systems especially those where a
safety or security case must be made
before the system is put into operation
22

Reuse-oriented development
Based on systematic reuse where systems are
integrated from existing components or COTS
(Commercial-off-the-shelf) systems
Process stages

Component analysis
Requirements modification
System design with reuse
Development and integration

This approach is becoming more important but

still limited experience with it
23

Reuse-oriented development

Requirements
specification

Component
analysis

Requirements
modification

System design
with reuse

Development
and integration

System
validation

24

Process iteration
System requirements ALWAYS evolve in the
course of a project so process iteration where
earlier stages are reworked is always part of
the process for large systems
Iteration can be applied to any of the generic
process models
Two (related) approaches
Incremental development
Spiral development
25

Incremental development
Rather than deliver the system as a single
delivery, the development and delivery is
broken down into increments with each
increment delivering part of the required
functionality
User requirements are prioritised and the
highest priority requirements are included in
early increments
Once the development of an increment is
started, the requirements are frozen though
requirements for later increments can continue
to evolve
26

Incremental development

Define outline
requirements

Develop system
increment

Assign requirements
to increments

Valida te
increment

Design system
architecture

Integrate
increment

Valida te
system
Final
system

System incomplete

27

Incremental development
advantages
Customer value can be delivered with each
increment so system functionality is available
earlier
Early increments act as a prototype to help
elicit requirements for later increments
Lower risk of overall project failure
The highest priority system services tend to
receive the most testing
28

Extreme programming
New approach to development based
on the development and delivery of very
small increments of functionality
Relies on constant code improvement,
user involvement in the development
team and pairwise programming

29

Spiral development
Process is represented as a spiral rather than
as a sequence of activities with backtracking.
Each loop in the spiral represents a phase in
the process.
No fixed phases such as specification or
design - loops in the spiral are chosen
depending on what is required.
Risks are explicitly assessed and resolved
throughout the process.
30

Spiral model of the software

process
Determine objectives
alternatives and
constraints

Risk
analysis

Evaluate alternatives
identify, resolve risks

Risk
analysis
Risk
analysis

REVIEW
Requirements plan
Life-cycle plan

Development
plan

Plan next phase

Integration
and test plan

Prototype 3
Prototype 2

Risk
analy sis Prototype 1

Operational
protoype

Simulations, models, benchmarks

Concept of
Operation

S/W
requirements

Requirement
validation

Product
design

Detailed
design

Code
Unit test
Design
V&V
Integr ation
test
Acceptance
test
Develop, verify
Service
next-level product

31

Spiral model sectors

Objective setting
Specific objectives for the phase are identified

Risk assessment and reduction

Risks are assessed and activities put in place to
reduce the key risks

Development and validation

A development model for the system is chosen
which can be any of the generic models

Planning
The project is reviewed and the next phase of the
spiral is planned

32

Software specification
The process of establishing what services are
required and the constraints on the systems
operation and development
Requirements engineering process

Feasibility study
Requirements elicitation and analysis
Requirements specification
Requirements validation
33

The requirements engineering

process
Feasibility
study

Requirements
elicitation and
analysis

Requir ements
specification

Feasibility
report

Requirements
validation
System
models
User and system
requirements
Requirements
document

34

Design process activities

Architectural design
Abstract specification
Interface design
Component design
Data structure design
Algorithm design
35

The software design process

Requirements
specification
Design acti
vities
Architectur
al
design

Abstract
specification

Interface
design

Component
design

Data
structur
e
design

Algorithm
design

System
architectur
e

Software
specification

Interface
specifica
t ion

Component
specification

Data
structur
e
specification

Algorithm
specifica
tion

Design pr
oducts

36

Design methods
Systematic approaches to developing a
software design
The design is usually documented as a set of
graphical models
Possible models

Data-flow model
Entity-relation-attribute model
Structural model
Object models
37

Programming and debugging

Translating a design into a program and
removing errors from that program
Programming is a personal activity - there is
no generic programming process
Programmers carry out some program testing
to discover faults in the program and remove
these faults in the debugging process

38

The debugging process

Locate
error

Design
error repair

Repair
error

Re-test
program

39

Software validation
Verification and validation is intended to show
that a system conforms to its specification and
meets the requirements of the system
customer
Involves checking and review processes and
system testing
System testing involves executing the system
with test cases that are derived from the
specification of the real data to be processed
by the system
40

The testing process

Unit
testing
Module
testing
Sub-system
testing
System
testing
Acceptance
testing

Component
testing

Integration testing

User
testing

41

Testing stages
Unit testing
Individual components are tested

Module testing
Related collections of dependent components are
tested

Sub-system testing
Modules are integrated into sub-systems and tested.
The focus here should be on interface testing

System testing
Testing of the system as a whole. Testing of emergent
properties

Acceptance testing
Testing with customer data to check that it is acceptable

42

Testing phases
Requir ements
specification

System
specification

System
integration
test plan

Acceptance
test plan

Service

System
design

Acceptance
test

Detailed
design

Sub-system
integration
test plan

System
integration test

Module and
unit code
and tess

Sub-system
integration test

43

Software evolution
Software is inherently flexible and can change.
As requirements change through changing
business circumstances, the software that
supports the business must also evolve and
change
Although there has been a demarcation between
development and evolution (maintenance) this is
increasingly irrelevant as fewer and fewer
systems are completely new
44

System evolution

Define system
requirements

Assess existing
systems

Existing
systems

Propose system
changes

Modify
systems

New
system

45

Automated process support

(CASE)
Computer-aided software engineering (CASE)
is software to support software development
and evolution processes
Activity automation

Graphical editors for system model development

Data dictionary to manage design entities
Graphical UI builder for user interface construction
Debuggers to support program fault finding
Automated translators to generate new versions of
a program

46

Case technology
Case technology has led to significant
improvements in the software process though
not the order of magnitude improvements that
were once predicted
Software engineering requires creative thought this is not readily automatable
Software engineering is a team activity and, for
large projects, much time is spent in team
interactions. CASE technology does not really
support these
47

CASE classification
Classification helps us understand the different
types of CASE tools and their support for process
activities
Functional perspective
Tools are classified according to their specific function

Process perspective
Tools are classified according to process activities that
are supported

Integration perspective
Tools are classified according to their organisation into
integrated units

48

Functional tool classification

49

Activity-based classification
Reengineering tools
Testing tools
Debugging tools
Program analysis tools
Language-processing
tools
Method support tools
Prototyping tools
Configuration
management tools
Change management tools
Documentation tools
Editing tools
Planning tools

Specification

Design

Implementation

Verification
and
Validation

50

CASE integration
Tools
Support individual process tasks such as design
consistency checking, text editing, etc.

Workbenches
Support a process phase such as specification or
design, Normally include a number of integrated tools

Environments
Support all or a substantial part of an entire software
process. Normally include several integrated
workbenches

51

Tools, workbenches,
environments
CASE
technology

Tools

Editors

Compilers

Workbenches

File
comparators

Analysis and
design

Multi-method
workbenches

Integrated
environments

Programming

Single-method
workbenches

Environments

Process-centred
environments

Testing

General-purpose
workbenches

Language-specific
workbenches

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