C
omputer programs, the software (see Computer
Programming) that is becoming an ever-larger part of the computer system, are growing
more and more complicated, requiring teams of programmers and years of effort to develop.
As a
consequence, a new subdiscipline, software engineering, has arisen. [1] Before studying the "Software
Engineering" topic, please glance at the below two questions, third question focuses on the
software development engineering phases.
Software Engineering (SE) is concerned with developing and maintaining software systems that behave reliably and efficiently, are affordable to develop and maintain, and satisfy all the requirements that customers have defined for them. It is important because of the impact of large, expensive software systems and the role of software in safety-critical applications. [2] The development of a large piece of software is perceived as an engineering task, to be approached with the same care as the construction of a skyscraper, for example, and with the same attention to cost, reliability, and maintainability of the final product. It integrates significant mathematics, computer science and practices whose origins are in engineering.
The software-engineering process (software development
process, also known as a software development life-cycle (SDLC)) is usually
described as consisting of several phases
variously defined
but in general consisting of below six-phases:
1) identification and analysis of user requirements, 2) development of system specifications (both
hardware and software), 3) software design (perhaps at several successively more detailed levels), 4)
implementation (actual coding), 5) testing, and 6) maintenance.
Even with such an engineering discipline in place, the software-development process is expensive and
time-consuming. [1]
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