Fundamental Principle of Software Engineering

The discipline of software engineering discuss the systematic and cost effective approach software development approaches which have come about from past innovation and lessons learnt from mistakes. Unlike the other engineering branch the physical law does not work for software . Here principle evolves from observation and experience. All those past innovation and experiences of writing good programs in cost effective and efficient ways have been systematically organized into a body of knowledge. This knowledge forms the foundation for the software engineering principles. Principles, however, are not sufficient to drive software development. In fact, they are general and abstract statements describing desirable properties of software processes and products. But, to apply principles, the software engineer should be equipped with appropriate methods and specific techniques that help incorporate the desired properties into processes and products.

There is no standard list for the principles of software engineering several authors have given several lists. But it seems all are related to each other. In fact it cannot be exhaustive. I have discussed some of these from different articles on the principle of software engineering.

1.Quality of the software

The software should be good quality product regardless of the definition of the quality of software. To achive quality ,reliability and availability play a special role in the software development process . Clearly, if the software does not have reliability and availability requirements, the need for software engineering principles and techniques diminishes greatly. In general, the choice of principles and techniques is determined by the software quality goals.

2.Rigour and formality

The rigor of a software development project is achieved by setting rules into the process. Every person involved in the project has to observe the rules. With rigor, a project can carry on smoothly without hindrances. However, when projects are lacking in rigor, they are doomed to run into problems and fail, resulting in unreliable products, high costs, and time overrun.

There are various degrees of rigor. The highest level of rigor is formality – a situation where software systems can be verified by mathematical laws. Automated testing and error removals are possible. Much research has gone into applying formality in software development. A branch of Software Engineering research known as Formal Methods has been well debated and discussed in numerous Software Engineering conferences. However, practical application of formal methods has been limited.

3. Use of Tools and technology

There should be discipline in the use of tools and knowledge of how to handle the tools. So that unnecessary problems can be avoided