Software Engineering

7.2.2.4  Software development timeline and task dependencies
The accuracy of project and technical plans, budgets, and schedules involves 
management processes that are responsive to changes in project scope and prod-
uct architectural design. Initial plans will never account for the true scope of the 

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CHAPTER 7 
Understanding Software Requirements
development effort because the understanding of the stakeholder requirements may 
be limited. The purpose of software engineering is to investigate stakeholder needs 
and expectations so that a technical solution may be formed. As the software prod-
uct architecture is developed, more insight into the technical work effort is made 
available and plans and schedules increase in accuracy. Rather than being driven 
by initial planning assumptions, project and technical plans must be continually 
revised and updated to reflect the improved information resulting from the software 
engineering effort. Design decisions made during the software engineering effort 
will require the project team to continually reevaluate plans, work packages, and 
risks to reallocate budgets and realign task schedules and dependencies.