Need for Software Engineering

Editor's Notes

• #3 We can’t run the modern world without software. Industrial manufacturing and distribution is completely computerized, as well as the financial processes. Not only that, Entertainment, including the music industry, gaming industry, and cinema and television, is also software intensive. Therefore, software engineering is essential for the functioning of national and international societies. They are not constrained by the properties of materials, governed by physical laws, This simplifies software engineering, as there are no natural limits to the potential of software. However, because of the lack of physical constraints, software systems can quickly become extremely complex, difficult to understand, and expensive to change. There are many different types of software systems, from simple embedded systems to complex, worldwide information systems. It is pointless to look for universal notations, methods, or techniques for software engineering because different types of software require different approaches. Developing an organizational information system is completely different from developing a controller for a scientific instrument. Neither of these systems has much in common with a graphics-intensive computer game. All of these applications need software engineering; they do not all need the same software engineering techniques.
• #4 Lots of people write programs. People in business write spreadsheet programs to simplify their jobs, scientists and engineers write programs to process their experimental data, and hobbyists write programs for their own interest and enjoyment. However, the vast majority of software development is a professional activity where software is developed for specific business purposes, for inclusion in other devices, or as software products such as information systems, CAD systems, etc. Professional software, intended for use by someone apart from its developer, is usually developed by teams rather than individuals. It is maintained and changed throughout its life. Software engineering is intended to support professional software development, rather than individual programming. It includes techniques that support program specification, design, and evolution, none of which are normally relevant for personal software development.
• #5 Seamlessly exhaustively
• #9 software failures are a consequence of majorly two factors 1. Increasing demands 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. Existing software engineering methods cannot cope and new software engineering techniques have to be developed to meet new these new demands. 2. Low expectations It is relatively 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. We need better software engineering education and training to address this problem.
• #10 heterogeneous