Introduction to Software Engineering

Introduction
Outline
 What is software
 What is Engineering
 What is Software Engineering
 Hardware vs. Software
 Software characteristics
 Types of software
 Professional software development
What is Software ?
 Software is a set of instructions
that directs a computer's
processor to perform specific
operation(s)
What is Software ?
 Types of Software
 Generic - developed to be sold to a range of different
customers. Examples – PC software such as graphics
programs, project management tools; CAD software; software
for specific markets such as appointments systems for dentists,
Application software such as Excel or Word.

 Bespoke (custom) - developed for a single customer

according to their specification
Examples – embedded control systems, air traffic control
software, traffic monitoring systems.
Product specification
 Generic products
 The specification of what the software should do

is owned by the software developer and

decisions on software change are made by the
developer.
 Customized products
 The specification of what the software should do

is owned by the customer for the software and

they make decisions on software changes that
are required.
What is Engineering
 Engineering is the application
of Scientific, Economic, Social, and
Practical knowledge in order to design,
build, and maintain structures,
machines, devices, systems, materials
and processes.
What is software engineering?
 Definition by IEEE :
(1) The application of systematic, disciplined,
quantifiable approach to the development,
operation, and maintenance of software; that is,
the application of engineering to software.
(2) The study of approaches as in (1) above
 Its a discipline that is concerned with all
aspects of software production.
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.
 Expenditure on software represents a
significant fraction of GNP in all developed
countries.
Software engineering
 Software engineering is an engineering discipline that is
concerned with all aspects of software production from the
early stages of system specification through to maintaining the
system after it has gone into use.
 Engineering discipline
 Using appropriate theories and methods to solve
problems bearing in mind organizational and financial
constraints.
 All aspects of software production
 Not just technical process of development. Also project
management and the development of tools, methods etc.
to support software production.
Importance of software engineering

 More and more, individuals and society rely on

advanced software systems. We need to be able to
produce reliable and trustworthy systems
economically and quickly.
 It is usually cheaper, in the long run, to use
software engineering methods and techniques for
software systems rather than just write the
programs as if it was a personal programming
project. For most types of system, the majority of
costs are the costs of changing the software after it
has gone into use.
 Essential attributes of good
software
Product characteristic Description

Maintainability Software should be written in such a way so that it can evolve to

meet the changing needs of customers. This is a critical attribute
because software change is an inevitable requirement of a
changing business environment.
Dependability and Software dependability includes a range of characteristics
security including reliability, security and safety. Dependable software
should not cause physical or economic damage in the event of
system failure. Malicious users should not be able to access or
damage the system.
Efficiency Software should not make wasteful use of system resources such
as memory and processor cycles. Efficiency therefore includes
responsiveness, processing time, memory utilisation, etc.

Acceptability Software must be acceptable to the type of users for which it is

designed. This means that it must be understandable, usable and
compatible with other systems that they use.
Software process activities
 Software specification, where customers and
engineers define the software that is to be produced
and the constraints on its operation.
 Software development, where the software is
designed and programmed.
 Software validation, where the software is checked
to ensure that it is what the customer requires.
 Software evolution, where the software is modified
to reflect changing customer and market
requirements.
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General issues that affect
software
 Heterogeneity
 Increasingly, systems are required to operate as

distributed systems across networks that include

different types of computer and mobile devices.
 Business and social change
 Business and society are changing incredibly

quickly as emerging economies develop and

new technologies become available. They need
to be able to change their existing software and
to rapidly develop new software.
General issues that affect
software
 Security and trust
 As software is intertwined with all aspects of our

lives, it is essential that we can trust that

software.
 Scale
 Software has to be developed across a very

wide range of scales, from very small embedded

systems in portable or wearable devices through
to Internet-scale, cloud-based systems that
serve a global community.
Software engineering diversity
 There are many different types of software
system and there is no universal set of
software techniques that is applicable to all
of these.
 The software engineering methods and tools
used depend on the type of application
being developed, the requirements of the
customer and the background of the
development team.
Application types
 Stand-alone applications
 These are application systems that run on a local computer, such
as a PC. They include all necessary functionality and do not
need to be connected to a network.
 Interactive transaction-based applications
 Applications that execute on a remote computer and are
accessed by users from their own PCs or terminals. These
include web applications such as e-commerce applications.
 Embedded control systems
 These are software control systems that control and manage
hardware devices. Numerically, there are probably more
embedded systems than any other type of system.
Application types
 Batch processing systems
 These are business systems that are designed to process
data in large batches. They process large numbers of
individual inputs to create corresponding outputs.
 Entertainment systems
 These are systems that are primarily for personal use and
which are intended to entertain the user.
 Systems for modeling and simulation
 These are systems that are developed by scientists and
engineers to model physical processes or situations,
which include many, separate, interacting objects.
Application types
 Data collection systems
 These are systems that collect data from
their environment using a set of sensors
and send that data to other systems for
processing.
 Systems of systems
 These are systems that are composed of
a number of other software systems.
Software engineering
fundamentals
 Some fundamental principles apply to all types of software system,
irrespective of the development techniques used:
 Systems should be developed using a managed and understood
development process. Of course, different processes are used
for different types of software.
 Dependability and performance are important for all types of
system.
 Understanding and managing the software specification and
requirements (what the software should do) are important.
 Where appropriate, you should reuse software that has already
been developed rather than write new software.
Frequently asked questions about software
engineering
Frequently asked questions about software
engineering
Software Cost
 Software costs often dominate
computer 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.
Hardware vs. Software

Hardware Software
 Manufactured  Developed/
 Wear out Engineered
 Built using  Obsolete
components  Custom built
 Relatively simple  Complex
Manufacturing vs. Development
 Once a hardware product has
been manufactured, it is difficult
or impossible to modify.
 In contrast, software products are
routinely modified and upgraded.
Manufacturing vs. Development

 In hardware, hiring more people

allows you to accomplish more work,
but the same does not necessarily
hold true in software engineering.
 Unlike hardware, software costs are
concentrated in design rather than
production.
Software project failure
 Failure to use software engineering methods
 It is fairly easy to write computer programs without using
software engineering methods and techniques. Many
companies have drifted into software development as their
products and services have evolved. They do not use
software engineering methods in their everyday work.
Consequently, their software is often more expensive and
less reliable than it should be.
Software project failure
 Increasing system complexity
 As new software engineering techniques help us to build
larger, more complex systems, the demands change.
Systems have to be built and delivered more quickly;
larger, even more complex systems are required; systems
have to have new capabilities that were previously thought
to be impossible.
Failure Curve for Hardware
Failure curve for Software
Failure curve for 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, software maintenance
involves considerably more complexity
Component Based vs. Custom Built

 Hardware products typically employ

many standardized design
components.
 Most software continues to be custom
built.
 The software industry does seem to be
moving (slowly) toward component-
based construction.
Characteristics of Software
 Software is developed or
engineered; it is not manufactured.
 Software does not “wear out” but it
becomes Obsolete.
 Software continues to be custom
built, as industry is moving toward
component based construction.
Types of Software
 System software
 Application software
 Engineering/scientific software
 Embedded software
 Web applications
 Artificial intelligence software
The End
 Thanks For Listening