An Introduction to Software

Engineering

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 1

 Objectives

To introduce software engineering and to explain
its importance

To answer key questions about software
engineering

To introduce ethical and professional issues in
software engineering

To introduce terms and expressions that we will
be using throughout the course

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 2

 Software engineering

The economies of ALL developed nations are
dependent on software.
• A significant fraction of Gross National Product in all
developed countries is spent on software.

More and more systems are software controlled

Software engineering is concerned with theories,
methods and tools for professional software
development.

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 3

 Software costs

Software costs often dominate computer system costs.
• Think about the software that you have on your PC. Add up the cost
of all your installed software (original) and compare it to the cost of the
hardware!

Software cost is not a one-time payment.
• Software costs more to maintain than it does to develop.

Pressman estimates that maintaining a software product
consumes 75% of the total amount of money spent on the
software.

Software engineering is concerned with cost-effective software
development.

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 4

 FAQs about software engineering

What is software?

What is software engineering?

What is the difference between software
engineering and computer engineering?

What is the difference between software
engineering and computer science?

What is the difference between software
engineering and system engineering?

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 5

 FAQs about software engineering

What is a software process?

What is a software process model?

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?

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 6

 What is software?

Computer programs and associated documentation such as
requirements, design models and user manuals.

Software products may be
• Generic - developed to be sold to a range of different customers
e.g.s. Microsoft Office, Norton Antivirus, Matlab, mobile phone
applications, Facebook applications, Mathematica, etc.
• Bespoke (custom) - developed for a single customer according to the
customer’s specification.

New software can be created by:
• developing new programs,
• configuring generic software systems (WebCT, the Banner System
at LAU, Blackboard, etc.) or
• reusing existing software. (reusing classes in JAVA)

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 7

 What is software engineering?

Software engineering is an engineering discipline that is
concerned with all aspects of software production.

A software engineer does not simply build a software and
sell it to the user. The software engineer has to follow
well-organised procedures and respect standards.

You will learn to be a software engineer. Some of you
might feel frustrated because you have to follow
standards. Frustrated or not, you have to follow them!

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 8

 What is the difference between software
engineering and computer science?

Consider this scenario:
• A governmental institute requires two systems:
1. a platform independent language that will be used to develop its own systems (might
be hardware oriented, or graphics oriented, etc.).
2. a software system that draws a map on the screen by colouring adjacent countries
with different colours. However, the minimum number of colours should be used. Also,
the software should be built using the in-house developed language.

What does the Computer Scientist do?
• Designing and writing a language is the job of a computer scientist (this requires
knowledge of compilers, interpreters, regular expressions, automata theory,
Turing Machines, etc.)
• Graph colouring is an NP-Complete problem- need to write a heuristic to solve it
 Computer scientist job.

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 9

 What is the difference between software
engineering and computer science?

What does the Software Engineer do?
• Meets with the client to understand the requirements
• Writes the requirements specifications
• Gives them to the developer
• Takes the software when it is completed and delivers it to the customer

Key idea: Cannot do it in ad-hoc manner.
• Should follow standardized procedures.

At the end of the course, you will compare your project to the one
you made in other courses (AI, networking, web programming,
etc.).

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 10

 What is the difference between software
engineering and system engineering?

System engineering involves hardware and software
engineering processes.

Software engineering does not involve hardware
installation, development, or deployment.
• The hardware should be there.
• Software engineering involves coming up with a software
that works on the hardware.
• Of course, it can also suggest modifications to the
hardware. But the modification itself is part of system
engineering not of software engineering.

For example, a bank might decide to hire you to
engineer a software system. You might suggest
modifications to the platform. The IT at the bank will do
this not you.
©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 11
 What is a software process?

A software process is a set of activities whose goal is the
development or evolution of software.

Your project for this course will consist of a software
process.

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.

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 12

 What is a software process model?

A software process model is a simplified
representation of a software process, presented
from a specific perspective.


Generic process models
• Waterfall;
• Iterative development;
• Component-based software engineering.

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 13

 What are the costs of software engineering?

Cost of development is distributed between
• A=Coding and testing
• B=Maintenance

Testing alone consumes 40% of A

For custom software (be-spoke software), evolution costs
often exceed development costs.
• B=75%(A+B)

Costs vary depending on:
• type of system
• requirements of system attributes (such as performance and
system reliability).

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 14

 What are software engineering methods?


Software engineering methods are organised
ways of producing software. They include:
• suggestions for the process to be followed, egs. Use
a heuristic to solve this problem, assign this person
to do this part of the work, etc.
• the notations to be used, we will see this later
• rules governing the system descriptions egs. System
has to be fast, and
• design guidelines – we will see this later.

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 15

 What is CASE (Computer-Aided Software
Engineering)

Software systems that are intended to provide automated
support for software process activities.


Upper-CASE
• Tools to support the early process activities of requirements
and design
 E.g.s.,MS Project Manager, Visio, Rational Rose


Lower-CASE
• Tools to support later activities such as programming,
debugging and testing
 E.g.s., NetBeans, Eclipse, etc..

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 16

 What are the attributes of good software?


The software should deliver the required functionality and
performance to the user and should be maintainable,
dependable, efficient and acceptable.

Maintainability
• Software must evolve to meet changing needs;

Dependability
• Software must be trustworthy;

Efficiency
• Software should not make wasteful use of system resources;

Acceptability
• Software must be accepted by the users for which it was designed.
This means it must be understandable, usable and compatible with
other systems.

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 17

 What are the key challenges facing software
engineering?


Heterogeneity, delivery and trust.

Heterogeneity
• software can cope with heterogeneous platforms and
execution environments;

Delivery
• Must develop techniques that lead to faster delivery of
software; time is an issue!

Trust
• Should be able to demonstrate to the user that they can trust the system.

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 18

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.

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 19

 Issues of professional responsibility

Confidentiality
• Engineers should 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 beyond their competence.

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 20

 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.
• Before signing a contract to work for an employer or to develop a
software product for a client, you should clarify who has property
of the product: you? The client? The company? Some
companies, when they hire employees, they make them sign a
contract noting that all what the employee develops or designs
on the company’s time or on his own time (including techniques,
products and even ideas!) is the property of the company.

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).

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 21

 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

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 22

 Code of ethics - preamble

See it in the book!

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 23

 Code of ethics - principles

PUBLIC
• Software engineers shall act consistently with the public
interest.

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.

PRODUCT
• Software engineers shall ensure that their products and related
modifications meet the highest professional standards possible.

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 24

 Code of ethics - principles

JUDGEMENT
• Software engineers shall maintain integrity and independence
in their professional judgment.

MANAGEMENT
• Software engineering managers and leaders shall subscribe to
and promote an ethical approach to the management of
software development and maintenance.

PROFESSION
• Software engineers shall advance the integrity and reputation
of the profession consistent with the public interest.

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 25

 Code of ethics - principles

COLLEAGUES
• Software engineers shall be fair to and supportive of
their colleagues.

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.

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 26

 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.

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 27

 Key points

Software engineering is an engineering discipline that 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.

Basic activities in a software process are software
specification, development, validation and evolution.

Methods are organised ways of producing software.

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 28

 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.

©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 1 Slide 29