Chapter-1

Introduction
To
Software Engineering
Topics covered

Professional software development

What is meant by software engineering.
Software engineering ethics
A brief introduction to ethical issues that affect software
engineering.
Case studies
An introduction to three examples that are used in later chapters
in the book.

2
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.

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Software costs

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.

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Software products

Generic products
Stand-alone systems that are marketed and sold to any
customer who wishes to buy them.
Examples – PC software such as graphics programs, project
management tools; CAD software; software for specific markets
such as appointments systems for dentists.
Customized products
Software that is commissioned by a specific customer to meet
their own needs.
Examples – embedded control systems, air traffic control
software, traffic monitoring systems.

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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.

6
 1.1 What is Software Engineering?---
 The economies of ALL developed nations are dependent on
software.
 More and more systems are software controlled
 The term software engineering is composed of two words,
software and engineering.

 Software is more than just a program code. A program is an

executable code, which serves some computational purpose.
Software, when made for a specific requirement is called
software product.
 Engineering on the other hand, is all about developing
products, using well-defined, scientific principles and methods.

 Software engineering is concerned with theories, methods and

tools for professional software development.
1.1 What is Software Engineering?...
The process of solving customers’ problems by the
systematic development and evolution of large, high-
quality software systems within cost, time and other
constraints

Other definitions:

• IEEE: the application of a systematic, disciplined,

quantifiable approach to the development, operation,
maintenance of software; that is, the application of
engineering to software.

• The CSA: The systematic activities involved in the design,

implementation and testing of software to optimize its
production and support.
 What is Software Engineering?…

Solving customers’ problems

• This is the goal of software engineering
• Adding unnecessary features does not help solve the
problem
• Software engineers must communicate effectively to identify
and understand the problem
Systematic development and evolution
• An engineering process involves applying well understood
techniques in a organized and disciplined way
• Many well-accepted practices have been formally
standardized
—e.g. by the IEEE or ISO
• Most development work is evolution
 What is Software Engineering?…
Large, high quality software systems
• Software engineering techniques are needed because large systems
cannot be completely understood by one person
• Teamwork and co-ordination are required
• Key challenge: Dividing up the work and ensuring that the parts of
the system work properly together
• The end-product must be of sufficient quality
Cost, time and other constraints
• Finite resources
• The benefit must outweigh the cost
• Others are competing to do the job cheaper and faster
• Inaccurate estimates of cost and time have caused many project
failures
 1.1 What is 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.
Frequently asked questions about software
engineering

Question Answer

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.
What are the attributes of good software? Good software should deliver the required functionality
and performance to the user 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.
What are the fundamental software Software specification, software development, software
engineering activities? validation and software evolution.
What is the difference between software Computer science focuses on theory and fundamentals;
engineering and computer science? software engineering is concerned with the practicalities
of developing and delivering useful software.
What is the difference between software System engineering is concerned with all aspects of
engineering and system engineering? computer-based systems development including
hardware, software and process engineering. Software
engineering is part of this more general process.

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Frequently asked questions about software
engineering

Question Answer
What are the key challenges facing Coping with increasing diversity, demands for reduced
software engineering? delivery times and developing trustworthy software.
What are the costs of software Roughly 60% of software costs are development costs,
engineering? 40% are testing costs. For custom software, evolution
costs often exceed development costs.
What are the best software engineering While all software projects have to be professionally
techniques and methods? managed and developed, different techniques are
appropriate for different types of system. For example,
games should always be developed using a series of
prototypes whereas safety critical control systems require
a complete and analyzable specification to be developed.
You can’t, therefore, say that one method is better than
another.
What differences has the web made to The web has led to the availability of software services
software engineering? and the possibility of developing highly distributed service-
based systems. Web-based systems development has led
to important advances in programming languages and
software reuse.

8
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.

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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.

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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 most 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.
Security and trust
As software is intertwined with all aspects of our lives, it is
essential that we can trust that software.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Software engineering and the web

The Web is now a platform for running application and

organizations are increasingly developing web-based
systems rather than local systems.
Web services (discussed in Chapter 19) allow
application functionality to be accessed over the web.
Cloud computing is an approach to the provision of
computer services where applications run remotely on
the ‘cloud’.
Users do not buy software buy pay according to use.

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 Web software engineering

Software reuse is the dominant approach for constructing

web-based systems.
When building these systems, you think about how you can
assemble them from pre-existing software components and systems.
Web-based systems should be developed and delivered
incrementally.
It is now generally recognized that it is impractical to specify all the
requirements for such systems in advance.
User interfaces are constrained by the capabilities of web
browsers.
Technologies such as AJAX allow rich interfaces to be created within
a web browser but are still difficult to use. Web forms with local
scripting are more commonly used.
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Web-based software engineering

Web-based systems are complex distributed systems

but the fundamental principles of software engineering
discussed previously are as applicable to them as they
are to any other types of system.
The fundamental ideas of software engineering,
discussed in the previous section, apply to web-based
software in the same way that they apply to other types
of software system.

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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.

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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

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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).

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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

managers, supervisors and policy makers, as well as

trainees and students of the profession.

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Rationale for the code of ethics

Computers have a central and growing role in commerce,

industry, government, medicine, education, entertainment and
society at large. Software engineers are those who contribute by
direct participation or by teaching, to the analysis, specification,
design, development, certification, maintenance and testing of
software systems.
Because of their roles in developing software systems, software
engineers have significant opportunities to do good or cause
harm, to enable others to do good or cause harm, or to influence
others to do good or cause harm. To ensure, as much as
possible, that their efforts will be used for good, software
engineers must commit themselves to making software
engineering a beneficial and respected profession.

26
The ACM/IEEE Code of Ethics

Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice

ACM/IEEE-CS Joint Task Force on Software Engineering Ethics and Professional Practices

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:

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Ethical 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.
4. 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.
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.

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Key points

Software engineering is an engineering discipline that is

concerned with all aspects of software production.
Essential software product attributes are maintainability,
dependability and security, efficiency and acceptability.
The high-level activities of specification, development,
validation and evolution are part of all software
processes.
The fundamental notions of software engineering are
universally applicable to all types of system
development.

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Key points

There are many different types of system and each

requires appropriate software engineering tools and
techniques for their development.
The fundamental ideas of software engineering are
applicable to all types of software system.

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Key points

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.

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