TABLE OF CONTENTS This is an exciting time to be a software developer. Software systems are becoming more challenging to build. They are playing an increasingly important role in society. People with software development skills are in demand. New methods, techniques, and tools are becoming available to support development and maintenance tasks.
Because software now has such an important role in our lives both economically and socially, there is pressure for software professionals to focus on quality issues. Poor quality software that can cause loss of life or property is no longer acceptable to society. Failures can result in catastrophic losses. Conditions demand software development staffs with interest and training in the areas of software product and process quality. Highly qualified staff ensure that software products are built on time, within budget, and are of the highest quality with respect to attributes such as reliability, correctness, usability, and the ability to meet all user requirements.
In response to the demand for high-quality software, and the need for well-educated software professionals, there is a movement to change the way software is developed and maintained, and the way developers and maintainers are educated. In fact, the profession of software engineering is slowly emerging as a formal engineering discipline. As a new discipline it will be related to other engineering disciplines, and have associated with it a defined body of knowledge, a code of ethics, and a certification process. The movement toward this new profession is the focus of...
