Software Crisis

• A term used in the early days for the difficulty in writing useful and
efficient software programs in required time

Causes of Software Crisis

• Project running over budget
• Project running beyond the set time
• Software did not meet the requirement
• Software very inefficient
 Software crisis (cont)
Increased Increased Increased
demand Complexity Challenge

SOFTWARE CRISIS

Same Same Same

workforce methods Challenge

Solution to Software Crisis: SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

 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
• Software engineering expenditure represents a
significant fraction of GNP in all developed
countries
 Software costs
• Software costs often dominate system costs. The
costs of software on a PC are often greater than
the hardware cost
• Software costs more to maintain than it does to
develop. For systems with a long life, maintenance
costs may be several times development costs
• Software engineering is concerned with cost-
effective software development
 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
• 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
 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
 What is the difference between software
engineering and 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 currently
insufficient to act as a complete underpinning for
software engineering
 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
process
• 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
– Evolutionary development
– Formal transformation
– Integration from reusable components
 What are the costs of software engineering?

• Roughly 60% of costs are development costs,

40% are testing costs. For custom software,
evolution costs often exceed development costs
• Costs vary depending on the type of system
being developed and the requirements of
system attributes such as performance and
system reliability
• Distribution of costs depends on the
development model that is used
 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 is CASE (Computer-Aided Software
Engineering)
• Software systems which are intended to provide
automated support for software process activities.
CASE systems are often used for method support
• Upper-CASE
– Tools to support the early process activities of
requirements and design
• Lower-CASE
– Tools to support later activities such as programming,
debugging and testing
 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
 Professional and ethical responsibility

• 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.
 Issues of professional responsibility

• Confidentiality
– Engineers should normally respect the confidentiality
of their employers or clients irrespective of whether or
not a formal confidentiality agreement has been
signed.
• Competence
– Engineers should not misrepresent their level of
competence. They should not knowingly accept work
which is outwith their competence.
 Issues of professional responsibility

• Intellectual property rights

– Engineers should be aware of local laws governing the use of intellectual
property such as patents, copyright, etc. They should be careful to ensure
that the intellectual property of employers and clients is protected.
• Computer misuse
– Software engineers should not use their technical skills to misuse other
people’s computers. Computer misuse ranges from relatively trivial (game
playing on an employer’s machine, say) to extremely serious (dissemination
of viruses).
 ACM/IEEE Code of Ethics
• The professional societies in the US have
cooperated to produce a code of ethical practice.
• Members of these organisations sign up to the
code of practice when they join.
• The Code contains eight Principles related to the
behaviour of and decisions made by professional
software engineers, including practitioners,
educators, managers, supervisors and policy
makers, as well as trainees and students of the
profession.
 Code of ethics - preamble
• Preamble
– The short version of the code summarizes aspirations at a high level of
the abstraction; the clauses that are included in the full version give
examples and details of how these aspirations change the way we act as
software engineering professionals. Without the aspirations, the details
can become legalistic and tedious; without the details, the aspirations
can become high sounding but empty; together, the aspirations and the
details form a cohesive code.
– Software engineers shall commit themselves to making the analysis,
specification, design, development, testing and maintenance of software
a beneficial and respected profession. In accordance with their
commitment to the health, safety and welfare of the public, software
engineers shall adhere to the following Eight Principles:
 Code of ethics - principles
• 1. PUBLIC
– Software engineers shall act consistently with the public interest.
• 2. CLIENT AND EMPLOYER
– Software engineers shall act in a manner that is in the best interests of
their client and employer consistent with the public interest.
• 3. PRODUCT
– Software engineers shall ensure that their products and related
modifications meet the highest professional standards possible.
 Code of ethics - principles
• JUDGMENT
– Software engineers shall maintain integrity and independence in their
professional judgment.
• 5. MANAGEMENT
– Software engineering managers and leaders shall subscribe to and promote
an ethical approach to the management of software development and
maintenance.
• 6. PROFESSION
– Software engineers shall advance the integrity and reputation of the
profession consistent with the public interest.
 Code of ethics - principles
• 7. COLLEAGUES
– Software engineers shall be fair to and supportive of
their colleagues.
• 8. SELF
– Software engineers shall participate in lifelong learning
regarding the practice of their profession and shall
promote an ethical approach to the practice of the
profession.
 Ethical dilemmas
• Disagreement in principle with the policies of
senior management
• Your employer acts in an unethical way and
releases a safety-critical system without finishing
the testing of the system
• Participation in the development of military
weapons systems or nuclear systems
 Key points
• Software engineering is an engineering discipline which is concerned with
all aspects of software production.
• Software products consist of developed programs and associated
documentation. Essential product attributes are maintainability,
dependability, efficiency and usability.
• The software process consists of activities which are involved in
developing software products. Basic activities are software specification,
development, validation and evolution.
• Methods are organised ways of producing software. They include suggestions for
the process to be followed, the notations to be used, rules governing the system
descriptions which are produced and design guidelines.
 Key points
• CASE tools are software systems which are designed to support routine
activities in the software process such as editing design diagrams,
checking diagram consistency and keeping track of program tests which
have been run.
• Software engineers have responsibilities to the engineering profession and
society. They should not simply be concerned with technical issues.
• Professional societies publish codes of conduct which set out the
standards of behaviour expected of their members.