Software Engineering Course Overview
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Questions and Answers

What is one of the primary objectives of the software engineering course?

  • To maximize the amount of software bugs
  • To create software that is costly and complex
  • To learn to design high-quality efficient software (correct)
  • To develop software using outdated methods

    • Which of the following is NOT included in the course contents?

  • Object-Oriented Software Development
  • Software Design
  • Database Management Systems (correct)
  • Software Testing and Verification

    • What was the average budget overrun reported in the Chaos Report by the Standish Group in 1995?

  • 222%
  • 189% (correct)
  • 61%
  • 53%

    • What percentage of IT projects were cancelled before completion according to the Chaos Report?

    <p>16%</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which aspect of software engineering does the course aim to address to help developers avoid common issues?

    <p>Software myths</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following best describes a goal of learning different software processes?

    <p>To select a suitable process for development</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is indicated as a major benefit of high-quality software?

    <p>It enhances efficiency and maintainability</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the term 'software crisis' refer to?

    <p>The challenges in meeting project specifications and deadlines</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one reason why 'out of date' practices become institutionalized in software engineering?

    <p>They have no time for education or training.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which company is categorized under Professional Software Services?

    <p>Anderson Consulting</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT one of the areas where organizations have made significant improvements?

    <p>Integrating rapid development techniques</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What challenge do organizations face regarding their staff's knowledge of best practices?

    <p>Few people know how to integrate best practices.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which statement best reflects the current situation in the software industry?

    <p>There is little overall improvement despite progress in specific areas.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following companies is listed among the Packaged Mass-Market Software providers?

    <p>Intuit</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a key factor contributing to the slow adaptation of proven methodologies in software engineering?

    <p>There is a lack of immediate necessity for change.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which category do Professional Software Services primarily fall under?

    <p>Enterprise Solutions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which myth suggests that a general statement of objectives is sufficient for starting software development?

    <p>Customer Perspectives</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the common misconception about the deliverables in software development?

    <p>The only deliverable is the tested code.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which statement reflects a myth about assessing software quality before coding?

    <p>Quality cannot be assessed until testing begins.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the management perspective myth suggest about software engineers and tools?

    <p>The quality of software does not depend on the environment alone.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which myth illustrates misunderstanding related to schedule management in software projects?

    <p>Delays can be overcome with more manpower.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What flawed belief do developers often hold about demonstrating software?

    <p>Once demonstrated, the project is considered complete.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which statement captures a faulty belief regarding the handling of vague software requirements?

    <p>Vague requirements can be defined after coding begins.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    According to the developer perspectives myth, what typically happens to tiny bugs as software progresses?

    <p>They become more complex over time.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main nature of the software crisis described?

    <p>A chronic problem persisting over time</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following describes an area where progress has been made in software engineering?

    <p>Development of high-level programming languages</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What key issue helps explain the continuing problems in software engineering?

    <p>Insufficient education and training for engineers</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How has the software development process changed as systems have evolved?

    <p>It has become more complex due to larger codebases</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was one of the challenges in software engineering highlighted in the content?

    <p>The absence of known proven practices for engineers</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a characteristic of the software environment that has changed over the years?

    <p>Complex multiprogramming systems have emerged</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which aspect is NOT considered a problem in the software industry according to the content?

    <p>High satisfaction rates from users</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What has been a notable trend in the size of software over the years?

    <p>Growing to thousands and millions of lines of code</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What percentage of costs is typically overrun in software projects?

    <p>189%</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a major reason cited for the abandonment or reworking of software projects?

    <p>Failure to follow best practices</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one observed problem of software products according to the content?

    <p>Difficult to alter and debug</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What percentage of client/server applications are reported to be abandoned or restarted from scratch?

    <p>10%</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which problem is a manifestation of the software crisis highlighted in the content?

    <p>They frequently crash</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What misconception about software development contributes to poor statistics?

    <p>The man-month myth</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How much money is typically wasted due to abandoned or reworked software projects annually in the US?

    <p>$140 billion</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a key factor contributing to the high complexity of software development?

    <p>Exponential growth in software size</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a significant factor contributing to the challenges faced in software engineering today?

    <p>Pressure for faster delivery</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following describes a challenge related to legacy systems in software engineering?

    <p>Maintenance and updating of valuable old systems</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What impact does Moore’s law have on the software engineering industry?

    <p>Increases the urgency to try new things</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What best describes the current state of software production despite advancements in knowledge?

    <p>Little change in overall effectiveness</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is a characteristic of technological heterogeneity in software engineering?

    <p>Integration of various hardware and software</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a common misconception about the knowledge of improving software production?

    <p>There are universally applicable methods available</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What aspect is NOT part of the future considerations for software engineering?

    <p>Exclusive focus on hardware advancements</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is primarily associated with enterprise heterogeneity?

    <p>Integration of multiple vendors' products</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following challenges in software engineering is related to increasing complexities?

    <p>Rapidly changing requirements</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a major reason that makes it difficult to identify limits in software engineering?

    <p>Trial and error approach</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Introduction to Software Engineering

    • This course introduces software engineering, covering its challenges, processes, and contents.
    • The course aims to help students avoid pitfalls and myths in software design.
    • It also covers different software processes for suitable selection and designing high-quality, efficient, usable, and maintainable software.

    Course Objectives

    • Learn about challenges in software development to prevent pitfalls and misconceptions.
    • Learn about various software processes to choose appropriate approaches.
    • Design high-quality software capable of efficient operation and maintenance.
    • Understand advanced software engineering methods.

    Course Contents

    • Introduction to software engineering
    • Software processes
    • Requirements engineering
    • Software design
    • Object-oriented software development
    • Software testing and verification
    • Software project management
    • Advanced methods

    Chapter 1: Introduction to Software Engineering

    • Provides an overview of software engineering, including the software crisis, myths, methods, evolution, and current status.

    Contents

    • Software crisis
    • Software myths
    • What is software engineering
    • Evolution of software engineering
    • State-of-the-art in software engineering

    Statistics - Chaos Report (1995)

    • 365 IT executives surveyed 8,380 projects
    • Average time overrun: 222%
    • Average cost overrun: 189%
    • 189% of original budget
    • 221% of original schedule
    • 61% of original functionality
    • 61% of specified features included
    • 16% of projects completed on time and on budget
    • 31% cancelled before completion

    Symptom of Software Crisis

    • Annual US spending on application development is approximately $250 billion.

    • $140 billion wasted due to project abandonment or rework.

    • Poor practices contributing to problems.

    • 10% of client/server applications are abandoned or restarted from scratch.

    • 20% of applications are significantly altered to avoid disaster.

    • 40% of applications are delivered significantly late.

    • Study of 70 large client/server applications from 30 European firms.

    Observed Problems

    • Software products fail to meet user requirements.
    • Software products crash frequently.
    • Software products are expensive.
    • Software products are difficult to alter, debug, enhance, and often delivered late.
    • Software products use resources non-optimally.

    Why are the Statistics So Bad?

    • Misconceptions about software development.
    • Software myths (e.g., the man-month myth).
    • Incorrect assumptions.
    • Inability to distinguish between coding and software development.
    • Exponential growth in complexity and difficulty with software size.
    • Ad hoc approaches break down with increasing software size.
    • Software professionals lacking engineering training.
    • Programmers with programming skills but without engineering mindset/process discipline.
    • Internal complexities
    • Essences and accidents in software development.

    How is Software Usually Constructed?

    • Illustrates the common misconceptions in software construction with a graphical representation depicting how requirements are often misrepresented, leading to different and misaligned end products.

    Software Myths (Customer Perspectives)

    • General statements of objectives suffice for software development initiation.
    • Missing/vague requirements can easily be dealt with later.
    • Application requirements are never stable; software must be flexible enough to accommodate changes.

    Software Myths (Developer Perspectives)

    • The job is done when the software is demonstrated.
    • Problems only begin after demonstration.
    • Software quality cannot be assessed before coding and testing.
    • Bugs accumulate during development.

    Software Myths (Management Perspectives)

    • Good standards and procedures suffice for successful software development.
    • Proof of success is found in the product's use, not just the development process.
    • The environment alone does not determine the quality of the product.
    • Adding more specialists won't always solve schedule slip problems.

    Misplaced Assumptions

    • All requirements can be pre-specified.
    • Users are experts at specifying their needs.
    • Users and developers are equally good at visualization.
    • Project teams can communicate unambiguously.

    Confused with Programs and Products

    • Programs are typically small, with the author being the sole user (e.g. small personal software).
    • Software products are large, with multiple users.
    • Professional software development involves teams.
    • Large products have well-designed interfaces, well-documented processes, and systematic development methods.
    • Small programs often lack proper user interfaces, documentation, and systematic development.

    Software Programming ≠ Software Engineering

    • Software programming involves translating problems into computer understandable language.
    • Software engineering involves developing, managing, evolving software products with teams of developers, complex systems, indefinite lifespan, and numerous stakeholders.

    What is Software?

    • Software is a combination of programs, documents, and data that form a configuration with programs designed to perform desired actions based on provided data. It also consists of documents to elaborate the operation and use of programs.

    • Software is an intangible, dynamic model of reality encompassing behaviors, real-world scenarios, computers, and auxiliary equipment interacting on the real world, which is constantly changing.

    Unique Characteristics of Software

    • Malleable (changeable)
    • Human-intensive (demands significant human effort)
    • Intangible and difficult to measure
    • Complex problems
    • Depends deeply on hardware (directly linked)
    • Top in the system engineering "food chain".
    • Does not wear out, but deteriorates (maintaining it is important if it is constantly used)
    • Requires high rigor in solutions
    • Has a discontinuous operational nature (on/off type functionality)

    Casting the Term

    • Software engineering emerged from NATO conferences in 1968 to address issues connected with project failures.

    What is Software Engineering?

    • The application of systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approaches to software; that is, the application of engineering to software.

    What is Software Engineering? (ctd.)

    • Concerned with the theories, methods, and tools used for software development, maintenance, and evolution.
    • Aims to produce quality software on time, within budget, and satisfying users' needs.
    • Deals with large software systems developed by teams.
    • Practical application of scientific knowledge to design, construct, and maintain computer programs and documentation.

    Other Definitions of Software Engineering

    • A systematic approach to software analysis, design, implementation, and maintenance (free online dictionary definition).
    • Systematic application of tools and techniques (development of applications).
    • Design and development of high-quality software.

    Scope and Goals of Software Engineering

    • Scope: study of software processes, development principles, techniques, and notations
    • Goals: production of quality software, delivered on time and within budget, satisfying customer needs.

    Software Process

    • Waterfall life cycle
    • Prototyping
    • Spiral model
    • Automatic synthesis model
    • Object-oriented model
    • 4 GL model

    Traditional Software Engineering

    • Focuses on functions, data, and behavior represented by data flow diagrams, entity-relationship diagrams, and state transition diagrams.

    Object-Oriented Software Engineering

    • Focuses on objects, functions, and behavior represented by class diagrams, data flow diagrams, and state charts.

    Evolution of Software Industry

    • Independent programming services
    • Software products
    • Enterprise solutions
    • Packaged software for the masses
    • Internet software and services

    Evolution of Design Techniques

    • Ad hoc
    • Data structure based
    • Control flow based
    • Object oriented
    • Application domain knowledge
    • Specialized SE knowledge
    • Advanced SE knowledge

    IT Market

    • Hardware products
    • Hardware maintenance
    • Software (embedded, professional, software products, packaged mass-market, enterprise solutions)
    • Processing services and Internet services

    Software Products and Services

    • A list of companies/products associated with the different software categories (professional services, enterprise solutions, packaged, and mass-market software)

    Software Engineering Today?

    • Organizations rely on past practices.
    • Difficulty in effectively training people on today's software processes leads to 'institutionalized' ineffective practices.
    • Few people are capable of integrating best software practices or adopting proven methodologies.

    Not Crisis, but a Chronic Problem

    • Software issues persist, even after 35 years.
    • Major problems remain, such as poor quality, budget overruns, and late or missed delivery dates.

    What's Wrong?

    • Software engineering has made progress but some areas still suffer from the issues of unrealistic expectations regarding delivering, maintainable, and quality software.

    A More Close Look

    • Comparing 1995 and 2003 reports indicates some progress.

    So, What's the Problem?

    • Issues change with the software industry.
    • Increasing emphasis on methods and tools, but insufficient education and training on techniques.
    • Lack of known proven software practices.

    Software Changes in the Past Years

    • Software size increased drastically.
    • Operating environments became more complex (e.g., batch, time-sharing, distributed systems).
    • Software development has become equally complex as operating systems.

    Situations for Software are Different Too

    • Intense market forces and unrealistic delivery time schedules.
    • Rapidly changing requirements.
    • Pressure for faster time to market.
    • Evolving software methodologies, systems, and techniques.
    • Need to re-design major systems.

    Talent Shortages and Constant Evolution

    • Software engineering talent is often in short supply.
    • Moore's law and software complexity make it necessary to constantly adapt to new methods and techniques
    • Trial and error is common to find software design limits.

    The Software Industry Today

    • Current state shows some progress, yet it is not much better than before due to the urgency of schedules and rapid evolution.
    • Need to improve understanding of how to improve overall production.

    Future of SE

    • Future areas of focus for software engineering (process, requirements engineering, testing, reverse engineering, maintenance, software architecture, OO modeling, SE and middleware tool and environment, configuration management, databases, SE education) with different categories (analysis, formal specifications, and foundations), alongside detailed principles, concepts and considerations.

    Three Key Challenges

    • Legacy systems
    • Heterogeneity
    • Software delivery

    Ever-Present Difficulties

    • Lack of guiding scientific principles.
    • Lack of universally applicable methods.
    • Importance of managerial, psychological, and sociological aspects alongside tech aspects.

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    Related Documents

    Introduction to Software Engineering PDF

    Description

    Test your knowledge about the objectives and key insights from the software engineering course. This quiz covers various aspects such as project management, software processes, and quality assurance. Engage with questions that highlight the challenges and improvements in the field of software engineering.

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