Component 1
Software Engineering Overview
A good engineer must understand the product that is to be engineered and the process that is used to accomplish the engineering. That's what this Essential Software Engineering (ESE) component is all about.

It's likely that you've already recognized the impact of software in the quality of the products, systems or services that your company brings to the marketplace; the timeliness with which they are delivered; and the cost effectiveness with which they are produced.

It's likely that you've already recognized the impact of software in the quality of the products, systems or services that your company brings to the marketplace; the timeliness with which they are delivered; and the cost effectiveness with which they are produced.

But what is software? It turns out that there are a number of different ways to answer this question, and in this ESE component we'll explore each.

It's also likely that you've struggled to build high-quality applications and to deliver them on time and within budget. There is an engineering process for software that can help to eliminate the struggle, but what are its characteristics? To answer this question, we'll examine the components of the software engineering process.

Achieving a mature software engineering process is a challenge for even the most sophisticated software development organization. In the last module of this ESE component, we'll introduce a software process improvement model that can help you to implement effective software engineering practices within your organization.

Module 1-1: Software and Software Engineering. Discusses software and the basic process components that are used to build it.

Module 1-2: Software Engineering Paradigms. Presents a set of alternative process models that can be used to implement software engineering procedures, methods, and tools.

Module 1-3: Process Improvement Topics. Introduces a pragmatic strategy for improving software engineering practices within your organization.

Module 1-1 Software & Software Engineering
The Product: Computer Software
Q&A: When you name data as a software component, what do you mean?
Software as an Engineered Entity
Q&A: Can you add people to a late software project?
Software 'Deterioration'
Q&A: How can software deteriorate?
Q&A: Where does the failure rate curve for hardware start?
Q&A: What happens as time passes and why?
Software Complexity & Reuse
Software & the Opportunities it Generates
Q&A: Do you know what total quality management is?
Software: An Aging "Factory"
Software Engineering: An Introduction
Q&A: How would you define software engineering?
Software Engineering: The Procedural Layer
Software Engineering: The Methods Layer
The Methods Layer: Analysis
The Methods Layer: Design
Q&A: How do we approach a software project that must run on different platforms?
The Methods Layer: Generating Codes
The Methods Layer: Testing
The Methods Layer: Reengineering
Q&A: How would you apply SE methods to make them most effective?
Software Engineering: The Tools Layer
Q&A: Now that you've talked about three software layers, which should we establish first?

Module 1-2 Software Engineering Paradigms
Linear, Sequential Process Models
The Classic Life Cycle
Q&A: Why is a linear process model problematic?
The Prototyping Paradigm
Q&A: Why is prototyping problematic?
Q&A: Isn't there a danger in trying to plan a project that intends to use the prototyping paradigm?
Evolutionary Process Models
Q&A: Are we likely to encounter problems when we apply an evolutionary paradigm?
Q&A: Is it reasonable to expect a fixed price quote? Why?
The Reuse Model for Object-Oriented Development
Q&A: Where is the need for reuse most important?
Q&A: Are there any problems that are inherent in the use of the reuse model?
The Cleanroom Model
Q&A: What do you think 'formal' means in this context?
The Process Framework
Selecting an Appropriate Paradigm
Framework Activities & Degrees of Adaptation
Selecting "Task Sets"

Module 1-3 Software Process Improvement Topics
Process Improvement
Q&A: Why do we struggle when we attempt to improve process?
Software Process: A Brief Review
Q&A: Why has the hardware process evolved more fully than the software process?
A Software Process Improvement Model
Q&A: Is it possible to accelerate the cycle?
Process Assessment
Q&A: Where do you think your organization resides on the SEI scale?
Education
Selection
Justification
Installation
Q&A: What can go wrong, and what can you do about it?
Evaluation
Q&A: Is it really a sequence, or are there times when activities are concurrent?

 

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