Software Engineering

Introduction
(Unit 1 – Part 1)
Dr. Najumudheen E S F
 Software

 Computer software is the product that software

professionals build and then support over the long term
 It encompasses
 Programs that execute within a computer of any size and
architecture,
 Content that is presented as the computer programs execute, and
 Descriptive information in both hard copy and virtual forms that
encompass virtually any electronic media

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 Nature of Software (1)

 Software takes on a dual role.

 It is a product, and at the same time, the vehicle for delivering a
product.
 As a product,
• It delivers the computing potential embodied by computer hardware
or more broadly, by a network of computers that are accessible by
local hardware
 As the vehicle used to deliver the product
• Software acts as the basis for
– The control of the computer (operating systems),
– The communication of information (networks), and
– The creation and control of other programs (software tools and
environments)

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 Nature of Software (2)

 Software is not susceptible to the environmental

maladies that cause hardware to wear out.

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 Failure Curves for Software

 In theory, the failure rate curve for software should take the form
of the “idealized curve”
• Undiscovered defects will cause high failure rates early in the life of
a program. However, these are corrected, and the curve flattens.
 The idealized curve is an oversimplification of actual failure
models for software.
 However, the implication is clear - software doesn’t wear out. But
it does deteriorate!
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 Failure Curves for Software (2)

 During its life, software will undergo change.

 As changes are made, it is likely that errors will be introduced,
causing the failure rate curve to spike as shown in the “actual curve”
 Before the curve can return to the original steady-state failure rate,
another change is requested, causing the curve to spike again
 Slowly, the minimum failure rate level begins to rise – the software is
deteriorating due to change.
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 Nature of Software – Contd. (3)

 Another aspect of wear illustrates the difference between

hardware and software.
 When a hardware component wears out, it is replaced by a
spare part.
 There are no software spare parts.
 Every software failure indicates an error in design or in the
process through which design was translated into machine
executable code.
 Therefore, the software maintenance tasks that accommodate
requests for change involve considerably more complexity than
hardware maintenance

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 Software Application Domains

 Broad categories of computer software

 System software
 Application software
 Engineering/scientific software
 Embedded software
 Product-line software
 Web/Mobile applications
 Artificial intelligence software
 All the above categories of software present continuing
challenges for software engineers

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 Software Engineering – Introduction (1)

 Software Engineering
 The application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable
approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of
software; That is, the application of engineering to software.
 The study of approaches related to the above process
 Software Engineering encompasses
 A process,
 A collection of methods (practice), and
 An array of tools that allow professionals to build high-quality
computer software.
 Software engineers apply the software engineering
process.
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 Software Engineering – Introduction (2)

 Software Engineering is important because

 It enables us to build complex systems in a timely manner and
with high quality
 It imposes discipline to work that can become quite chaotic
 It also allows the people who build computer software to adapt
their approach in a manner that best suits their needs.
 Steps in Software Engineering
 We build computer software like we build any successful
product,
• By applying an agile, adaptable process that leads to a high-quality
result, which meets the needs of the people who will use the
product.
• We apply a Software Engineering approach
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 Software Engineering – Layers (1)

 Software engineering is a layered technology.

 Any engineering approach (including software engineering) must
rest on an organizational commitment to quality. Total quality
management
 The foundation for software engineering is the process layer.
• The software engineering process is the glue that holds the
technology layers together and enables rational and timely
development of computer software

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 Software Engineering – Layers (2)

 Software engineering methods

• Provide the technical know-how for building software.
• Methods encompass a broad array of tasks that include
communication, requirements analysis, design modeling, program
construction, testing, and support.
 Software engineering tools provide automated or semi-
automated support for the process and the methods

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 The Software Process

 Software Process
 The systematic approach that is used in software engineering
 The set of activities, actions, and tasks that are performed to
create some work product
• An activity strives to achieve a broad objective
– Example: Communication with stakeholders
– It is applied regardless of the application domain, size of the
project, complexity of the effort, etc.
• An action encompasses a set of tasks that produce a major work
product
• A task focuses on a small, but well-defined objective that produces
a tangible outcome
– Example: Conducting a unit test

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 The Software Process – Contd.

 In the context of Software Engineering

 A process is not a rigid prescription for how to build computer
software.
 It is an adaptable approach that enables the people doing the
work (the software team) to pick and choose the appropriate set
of work actions and tasks

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 Software Product

 Products or deliverables are the outcomes of a process

activity.
 For example, the outcome of architectural design (activity) may
be the software architecture model (deliverable)
 From the point of view of a software engineer, the work
products are
 The programs, documents, and data that are produced as a
consequence of the activities and tasks defined by the process

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 Software Process – Basic Activities

 Four fundamental activities are common to all software

processes
 Software Specification
• Customers and engineers define the software that is to be produced
and the constraints on its operation
 Software Development
• The software that meets the specification is designed and
programmed for production
 Software Validation
• The software is validated to ensure that it does what the customer
requires
 Software Evolution
• The software is modified to reflect changing customer and market
requirements
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 Software Process Models

 A Software Process Model

 Also called as Software Development Life Cycle or SDLC
 A simplified representation of a software process
 Generic process models
• High-level, abstract descriptions of software processes that can be
used to explain different approaches to software development
• The Waterfall Model
• Incremental Development
• Integration and Configuration

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 Waterfall Model

 In this approach, the fundamental process activities of specification,

development, validation, and evolution are represented as separate
process phases such as requirements specification, software design,
implementation, and testing, and maintenance.

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 Waterfall Model – Contd.

 Examples of software applications where waterfall model

is appropriate
 Embedded Systems
• It is not possible to delay decisions on the software’s functionality
until it is being implemented
 Critical Systems
• There is a need for extensive safety and security analysis of the
software specification and design.
• In such systems, the specification and design documents must be
complete so that this analysis is possible
 Large Software Systems
• Several companies are involved
• Complete specifications may be needed to allow for the
independent development of different subsystems
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 Incremental Development

 This approach interleaves the activities of specification,

development, and validation.
 The system is developed as a series of versions (increments),
with each version adding functionality to the previous version.

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 Incremental Development (2)

 Advantages over the waterfall model

 Cost of implementing requirements changes is reduced
 It’s easier to get customer feedback on the development work
that has been done
 Early delivery and deployment of useful software to the customer
is possible

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 Incremental Development (3)

 Problems & Drawbacks

 The process is not visible. It’s not cost effective to produce
documents that reflect every version of the system
 System structure tends to degrade as new increments are added
 The problems become acute for large, complex, long-lifetime
systems, where different teams develop different parts of the
system.
• Large systems need a stable framework or architecture
• Responsibilities of the different teams working on parts of the
system need to be clearly defined with respect to that architecture.
• This has to be planned in advance rather than developed
incrementally

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 Integration and Configuration

 This approach relies on the availability of reusable

components or systems.
 The system development process focuses on configuring
these components for use in a new setting and
integrating them into a system.

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 Integration and Configuration
- Reusable Software Components
 Three types of software components are frequently
reused
 Stand-alone application systems
• Configured for use in a particular environment
 Collections of objects
• Developed as a component or as a package to be integrated with a
component framework
 Web services
• Developed according to service standards

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 Reuse Oriented Software Engineering

 A general process model for reuse-based development,

based on integration and configuration.

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Reuse Oriented Software Engineering (2)

 Stages in Reuse Oriented Software Engineering

 Requirements Specification
• The initial requirements for the system are proposed
 Software Discovery and Evaluation
• Given an outline of the software requirements, a search is made for
components and systems that provide the functionality required.
• Candidate components and systems are evaluated to see if they
meet the essential requirements
 Requirements Refinement
• Requirements are refined using information about the reusable
components

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Reuse Oriented Software Engineering (3)

 Stages in Reuse Oriented Software Engineering – Contd.

 Application System Configuration
• If an off-the-shelf application system is available, it may then be
configured for use to create the new system.
 Component Adaptation and Integration
• If there is no off-the-shelf system, individual reusable components
may be modified and new components developed.
• These are then integrated to create the system

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 Evolutionary Software Process Models

 Software, like all complex systems, evolves over a

period of time
 Business and product requirements often change as
development proceeds, making a straight-line path to an
end-product unrealistic
 Evolutionary models are iterative
 They are characterized in a manner that enables you to
develop increasingly more complete versions of the
software.

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 Evolutionary Software Process Models (2)

 Two common evolutionary process models

 Prototype Software Development or Prototyping
 The Spiral Model

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 Prototype Development

 Prototype - An early version of a software system

 Used to demonstrate concepts, try out design options, and find
out more about the problem and its possible solutions.
 Rapid, iterative development of the prototype is essential so that
costs are controlled and system stakeholders can experiment
with the prototype early in the software process

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 Prototype Development (2)

 A software prototype can be used in a software

development process to help anticipate changes that
may be required -
 In the Requirements Engineering process
• Prototype can help with the elicitation and validation of system
requirements.
 In the System Design process
• Prototype can be used to explore software solutions and in the
development of a user interface for the system.

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 Prototype Development (3)

 System prototypes
 Allow potential users to see how well the system supports their
work.
 They may get new ideas for requirements and find areas of
strength and weakness in the software.
 They may then propose new system requirements
 A system prototype
 May be used while the system is being designed to carry out
design experiments to check the feasibility of a proposed design.
 Example: A database design may be prototyped and tested to
check that it supports efficient data access for the most common
user queries

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 Prototype Development Process

 A process model for prototype development

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 Prototype Development Process (2)

 The objectives of prototyping should be made explicit

from the start of the process. These may be
 To develop the user interface
 To develop a system to validate functional system requirements
 To develop a system to demonstrate the application to managers

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 Prototype Development Process (3)

 The next stage in the process is to decide

 What to put into and, perhaps more importantly, what to leave
out of the prototype system.
 To reduce prototyping costs and accelerate the delivery
schedule, you may leave some functionality out of the prototype
• You may decide to relax non-functional requirements such as
response time and memory utilization.
• Error handling and management may be ignored unless the
objective of the prototype is to establish a user interface

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 Prototype Development Process (4)

 The final stage of the process is Prototype Evaluation

 Provision must be made during this stage for user training
 Prototype objectives should be used to derive a plan for
evaluation

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 Spiral Model

 Using the spiral model, software is developed in a series of

evolutionary releases
 During early iterations, the release might be a model or prototype
 During later iterations, increasingly more complete versions of the
engineered system are produced
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 Spiral Model (2)

 Each phase in this model is split into four sectors (or

quadrants).
 In the first quadrant, a few features of the software are
identified (based on its importance to the final product),
and taken up for immediate development
 With each iteration around the spiral (beginning at the
center and moving outwards), progressively more
complete versions of the software are developed
 Thus, implementation of the identified set of features
forms a phase

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 Spiral Model (3)

 A prominent feature of the spiral model is handling

unforeseen risks that can show up much after the project
has started

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 Spiral Model (4)

 Prototyping Vs Spiral
 While the prototyping model provides explicit support for risk
handling, the risks are assumed to have been identified
completely before the start of the project.
 This is required since the prototype is constructed only at the
start of the project.
 In contrast, in the spiral model, prototypes are built at the start of
every phase.
 Each phase of the model is represented as a loop
• In each loop, one or more features of the product are elaborated
and analyzed, and the risks at that point of time are identified and
are resolved through prototyping.
 Based on this, the identified features are implemented.

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