Software Engineering

1. 
The translation of stakeholder needs and expectations into a software 
architecture.
2. 
The specification of a balanced, achievable set of software requirements.
3. 
The incorporation of the solutions into work packages and technical and project 
plans and schedules.
Stakeholder needs and expectations must be evaluated, harmonized, and decon-
flicted to ensure that stakeholder expectations are properly established before the 
project enters into more detailed engineering activities. Abstract solution bounda-
ries are generated in the form of ideas, considerations, and constraints that restrict 
the problem to be solved by design alternatives. Having the problem bounded per-
mits the elaboration of product concepts that address the most important stake-
holder needs and technical challenges. Initial product concepts should address how 
the product will operate within a larger business or operational context. The top-
level or predominant functionality and performance challenges should be examined 
to gain an appreciation for the extent of the effort necessary to realize a product 
solution. An initial physical solution should be prepared that identifies the key 
structural components of the software product and attempts to reduce the product 
complexity.
The initial product concepts should be assessed against operational scenarios, 
project objectives, technical feasibility, and product sustainment concepts. Certain 
technical solutions may result in very eloquent and user-satisfying products. 
However, the technical challenges confronting software implementation and test-
ing efforts may increase product training or support costs. The product technical 
solutions should be as noncomplex as possible to reduce implementation, testing, 
and sustainment costs. At this juncture, the product concepts should be assessed in 
terms of its total life-cycle costs resulting from the post-development process defi-
nitions. These processes are conceptualized and initial process definitions generated 
to support this assessment. Eventually, the initial software architecture should be 
specified in terms of the product and process requirements, and the initial func-
tional and physical architectures. The complete software architecture is represented 
by the combination of the product and post-development process architectures.
The challenges involved with this initial exploration of the stakeholder needs are: