Software Engineering

• Computer Programs and associated documentation.

• Software products may be developed for a particular customer or may developed for a
general market.

What are the attributes of good software?

Good software should deliver the functionality and performance that the software users need
and should be maintainable, dependable, and usable.

What is software engineering?

Software engineering is an engineering discipline that is concerned with all aspects of
software production. “Engineering” means that systematic and managed approaches are used
for software development.

Fundamental software engineering activities:

 Software specification
 software development
 software validation
 software evolution

What is the difference between software engineering and computer science?

Computer science focuses on theory and fundamentals; software engineering is concerned

with the practicalities of developing and delivering useful software.

What is the difference between software engineering and 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
more general process.

What are the key challenges facing software engineering?

1. Coping with increasing diversity

2. Demands for reduced delivery times
3. Developing trustworthy software

What are the costs of software engineering?

Roughly 60% of software costs are development costs, 40% are testing costs. For custom
software, evolution costs often exceed development costs.

Agile software development

Agile software development is a modern and iterative approach to software development that
prioritizes flexibility, collaboration, customer involvement, and incremental delivery of
working software. Agile methodologies, such as Scrum, Kanban, and Agile/Lean, are widely
used in software development projects to respond to changing requirements, improve team
productivity, and deliver high-quality software.

Key practices in agile software development include:

 Iterative development: Agile teams work in short, time-boxed iterations or sprints,

typically lasting one to four weeks, and deliver working software at the end of each
iteration.

 Cross-functional teams: Agile teams are typically composed of members with diverse
skills, such as developers, testers, designers, and business representatives, who work
collaboratively to deliver software.

 Continuous integration and testing: Agile teams continuously integrate code changes
and conduct automated testing to ensure that the software is always in a releasable
state and of high quality.

 Product backlog and prioritization: Agile teams maintain a prioritized list of

requirements or features, known as a product backlog, and work on the most valuable
items first, based on customer feedback and priorities.

 Daily stand-up meetings: Agile teams typically hold short, daily stand-up meetings to
synchronize work, identify and address obstacles, and plan the day's work.

 Retrospectives: Agile teams conduct regular retrospectives to reflect on the team's

performance, identify areas for improvement, and implement changes to optimize the
development process.

 Visual management: Agile teams often use visual management techniques, such as
Kanban boards or task boards, to provide transparency and visibility into the status of
work items and progress.

Requirement engineering

It’s the process of eliciting, documenting, validating, and managing the needs, expectations,
and constraints of stakeholders for a software system or solution. It involves understanding
and defining the desired functionalities, performance, and characteristics of the system to be
developed or enhanced. Requirement engineering is a critical phase in the software
development lifecycle, as it lays the foundation for the successful development of a software
system that meets the needs of its intended users. The process includes activities such as
stakeholder identification, requirements gathering, documentation, prioritization, validation,
and management to ensure that the software system is built to satisfy the identified
requirements and deliver value to stakeholders.
Software engineering ethics

 Software engineering involves wider responsibilities than simply the application of

technical skills.
 Software engineers must behave in an honest and ethically responsible way if they are to
be respected as professionals.
 Ethical behaviour is more than simply upholding the law but involves following a set of
principles that are morally correct.