Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 1
Introduction to Software Engineering
In the early years of computing, when the new technology was restricted to college
campuses and government sponsored labs, software development was often lim-
ited to the practice of computer programming, and consisted of writing specific
software solutions to unique scientific queries. Today, though, with the use of
computers in nearly every imaginable field, simply attempting to program a
solution is not enough. Instead, processes borrowed from the field of engineering
were applied to the building of software systems to create the field of software
engineering.
Software engineering is the process of designing, developing and delivering
software systems that meet a client's requirements in an efficient and cost effective
manner. To achieve this end, software engineers focus not only on the writing of a
program, but on every aspect of the process, from clear initial communication with
the client, through effective project management, to economical post-delivery
maintenance practices. The IEEE Standard glossary of software engineering ter-
minology defines software engineering as the application of a systematic, disci-
plined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation and maintenance of
software (Ghezzi et al.
1991
). As made clear by the above definition, software
engineering came about in order to reverse early development practices by
establishing a standard development method that could unify and normalize
development operations, regardless of the people involved or the goals sought.
1.1 Why Do We Need Software Engineering?
1.1.1 Brief Historical Summary
The term software engineering was first coined in the late 1960s by a NATO study
group seeking a solution to a phenomenon that they dubbed the software crisis.
The software crisis referred to an alarming characteristic that had become defin-
itive of the software development industry: a large volume of software was failing
to meet initial budget and timeline specifications, and was either being produced at
