Software engineering focuses on the analysis of user requirements and the implementation procedure of those requirements. The implementation involves three phases. They are designing, building, and testing the software.
Let’s look at what the famous people and organizations in the software engineering discipline think about the definition of software engineering.
Barry Boehm’s Definition
Barry Boehm, a famous American software engineer, says, ‘Software engineering is the practical application of scientific knowledge to computer programs’ creative design and building. It also includes associated documentation needed for developing, operating, and maintaining them.’
Definition of IEEE
According to IEEE, software engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software; that is, the application of engineering to software.
Friedrich Ludwig Bauer’s Definition
Another famous computer scientist Friedrich Ludwig Bauer defines software engineering as, ‘Establishment and use of sound engineering principles to economically obtain software that is reliable and works on real machines efficiently.
So, we have learned what is software engineering. Are you interested to learn more? Let’s have a look at the challenges associated with software engineering.
Why Software Engineering is Challenging
The software has become the heart of the world. Think about a software failure in your favorite search engine Google or failure of Google Map navigation while you drive. As a matter of fact, things can turn even worse if there is a failure in the nuclear power plant management software. It can wipe out an entire city, turning thousands of residents, animals, and trees into ashes. Think about the aviation industry. Suppose the autopilot software has a bug and fails in the middle of the air. Or the navigation software reads and shows incorrect data, how dangerous it might be. And this is why software engineering is challenging.
- Software failure in safety-critical sectors, for example, nuclear power plants, aviation, and space operations, can cause massive damage to lives and resources.
- Software is at the heart of modern transportation system management. That is why a bug or failure can cause an entire city to run into the chaos of traffic and road blockades.
- The core of computer-assisted surgical systems is software. As a result, a slightest error in the software can cost a life here.
- 21st century’s banks and financial organizations are entirely dependent on software that requires smooth operation and demands multilayer security. That is why a security breach in financial software can cause severe damages.
- Today’s market demands for faster turnaround time which is very challenging.
- In this field, engineers always need to deal with new projects’ new and increased complexity.
- And the field is highly diverse.
That is why software engineering is very challenging. Do you have the courage to take beat these challenges? If you have the course, then software engineering is for you. Now you know what is software engineering and the challenges the software engineers deal with.
Best University to Study Software Engineering
There are more than 25,000 universities in the world. It is beyond the scope to suggest the best university to study software engineering among all of these universities. According to USNEWS.com, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of California, Berkeley, and Georgia Institute of Technology are the best universities to study software engineering in the United States. In Canada, the University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo are good for software engineering. This site suggests that the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and the Indian Institute of Science are the top universities to study software engineering or related fields in India.
The best university to study software engineering in Bangladesh is Daffodil International University (DIU). The well-equipped classrooms, advanced laboratory, industry expert faculty members, and a very high graduate to employment ratio make the Daffodil International University (DIU) the best university to study software engineering in Bangladesh.
This site also shows that The University of Technology Sydney and Adelaide are good choices to study software engineering in Australia.
| Country | Best University to Study Software Engineering |
| United States (U.S.) | Massachusetts Insitute of Technology (MIT), University of California, Berkeley, Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Canada | The University of Toronto, University of Waterloo. |
| India | Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Indian Institute of Science |
| Bangladesh | Daffodil International University |
| Australia | The University of Technology Sydney, University of Adelaide |
So, we have learned what software engineering and the challenges of this field are. We’ve also seen a few of the top universities to study software engineering. Now, let’s turn our attention to the origin of software engineering. Now you know what is software engineering and the challenges are associated with it. You have also learned about a few of the best universities from different parts of the world to study Software Engineering. Let’s have a look at the origin of software engineering.
From Crisis to Solution – The Origin Software Engineering
The Crisis
It started from a crisis in the 1960s.
- Back then, software project failures were everywhere.
- Crossing the budget and unstable final product was a common scenario.
- Moreover, maintenance started becoming too expensive. The larger the software, the more expensive it became to maintain.
- Even after the extra budget, expensive maintenance, lots of software failed to satisfy the customer requirements.
- Things turned even more complicated when the hardware capability started increasing.
This mayhem, often called software crisis, uplifted the need and highlighted the demand for a systematic, faster, and more reliable software development approach. And the solution to this crisis turns out to be Software Engineering.
The Solution
In a nutshell, the chaotic development process, unorganized code base and improper maintenance, the frequent failure of software projects lead to the development of an engineering discipline –Software Engineering.
- The adaptation of the software engineering principles started to spread widely back then late 1970s.
- Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) and automation in the software engineering process started in the 1980s.
- The emphasis on proper management, standardization of good practices, and a well-defined systematic maintenance approach started in the 1990s.
Altogether, different software engineering models emerged and helped software companies to meet the customer requirements at affordable expenditure with a well-defined development process and sustained product. As a result, software engineering became a very popular discipline of engineering within a short period.
Why Software Engineering is Popular?
Software engineering is a very popular engineering discipline. One of the most common reasons behind the popularity of software engineering is the employment rate. This year, the employment rate for software engineers is 87%, which is the highest among all other engineering disciplines. That is why software engineering is very popular. According to the United States (U.S.) Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay of software engineers is $110,140 per year. It is a six-figure median salary.
According to their statistics, the United States will need 409,500 software engineers within the next 10 years. And the growth rate of the employment opportunity is 22%. It is much faster than average. And do you know how many software engineers are currently working in the United States? There are 1,847,900 software engineers in the United States alone. Now think about the entire world.
So, in summary, we can say, software engineering is popular because of
- The very high employment rate (87%),
- A six-figure median salary ($110,140),
- The rapid growth of the industry (22%),
- A secured future (409,500 job openings in the next 10 years in the U.S. alone).
Do you want to learn more about the reasons behind the popularity of Software Engineering? If yes, you can read this article – Why Study Software Engineering?
Do You Want to Study Software Engineering?
Are you interested in studying Software Engineering? Suppose you want to be a good software engineer and get a high-paying job right after graduation. In that case, you have to learn from a good university. There are many good universities in developed countries. However, the quality of education in underdeveloped countries and least-developed countries is inferior. For example, suppose you are from South Aisa. In that case, you will find there are very few universities are in global university rank. Among these universities, Daffodil International University (DIU) of Bangladesh is the best university to study Software Engineering at an affordable cost. If your dream is to be a software engineer, you can choose this university. Without any doubt, DIU will provide you everything to be a sound software engineer.
Now you know what is software engineering, what its challenges are, the origin of this discipline, and the reasons behind the popularity of software engineering. Let’s learn when software is considered good software.
When Software is Considered Good Software
When we are talking about software, we actually mean good software. Now the question is how to distinguish between software and good software. There are a few characteristics that we take into consideration to make the decision. These characteristics are:
- Operational
- Transitional
- Maintenance
Let’s explore a little more to understand what these characteristics refer to.
Operational
Every software is built to do something. The operational characteristic is a tool to measure how well software performs in its designated operations. It is calculated using the following parameters:
- Budget
- Efficiency
- Usability
- Dependability
- Correctness
- Functionality
- Safety
- Security
Transitional
Today’s world is dynamic. It is essential to have the quality of having a smooth transition from one platform to another. How easier and smoother it is when software is moved from one platform to another is defined by the transitional characteristics. We take the following criteria into consideration to measure the transitional characteristics of a software:
- Interoperability
- Reusability
- Portability
- Adaptability
Maintenance
Software is not a one-time deal. It is regularly updated, new features are added, obsolete components are removed, bugs are identified and fixed. Even the platform is not static. The underlying hardware of the system where the software run can be changed based on the requirements. Good software should have the capability to perform well in this dynamic environment. The characteristics we used to define this measure this quality are called maintenance. We use the following attributes of software to express the maintenance characteristics:
- Flexibility
- Maintainability
- Modularity
- Scalability
Conclusion
Software engineering is an engineering discipline that deals with the software’s requirement analysis, designing, building, and testing. It is a .It emerged from the necessity of well-defined development models to prevent software project failure, assure proper budget utilization, make the production rapid and enhance reusability. Software engineering has become the most popular engineering discipline because of the high employment rate and an excellent starting salary. The employment opportunity is growing at a rate of 22%. That means the within next 10 to 15 years, the job will remain undersaturated. And new software engineers will have good scope to penetrate into the job market easily. However, software engineering is a challenging field. If you want to take the challenge, study software engineering.
