Software Engineering

2.3 Summary ............................................................................................................ 41

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CHAPTER 2 
Generic Software Development Framework
Throughout this book a generic software development framework is utilized to iden-
tify and consider compelling software engineering propositions. Without this frame-
work, software engineering cannot be understood or expressed since it operates 
within a project environment undertaking a software development objective. This sug-
gests that the practice of software engineering is 
always
 carried out within a software 
development project environment. It is not possible to discuss software engineering 
without broaching the topics of software development or project management. This 
implies that software engineering is closely related and integral to software project 
management. However, because it represents a technical discipline, software engi-
neering must emphasize the techniques employed to design, implement, and maintain 
software products. Therefore, the discipline of software engineering must stress the 
nature of this technical burden while accentuating its affiliation with software pro-
ject management or a larger system development project management framework. 
Fundamentally, software engineering represents the supervisory function that bridges 
the technical effort with the project management domain.
This chapter establishes the vernacular that will be utilized to convey the prin-
ciples and practices that form a software engineering branch of knowledge. Several 
dominant concepts are revealed and examined to initiate our investigation of soft-
ware engineering. These concepts address fundamental observations concerning 
what is a software product, how software is fashioned in a project context, and how 
some of the basic management tools are utilized to organize, monitor, and keep a 
software development project directed toward successful completion. It is impor-
tant to comprehend these concepts because the software engineering philosophy 
and principles are dependent on this foundation and will be expressed utilizing this 
lexicon. Even the term 
software
 has a specific meaning that is similar to, but more 
influential than, the term 
product
. Therefore, every technical term or expression 
used throughout this book has a specific connotation, and the use of one term over 
another designates a precise meaning.
The expression of a generic software development framework is predicated on 
understanding the term 
software
. Similar to the word 
system
, 
software
 has been 
overburdened with connotations to the point that its value as a means to commu-
nicate has been lost. Therefore, the term 
software
 will be examined so that its use 
throughout this material will be apparent. The software development framework is 
discussed to provide a frame of reference within which software engineering tech-
niques and practices can be investigated. When 
software development
 is mentioned 
it should invoke a project representation with several increments of time separated 
by project milestones and reviews. Software development shares both a project and 
a product creation connotation. The development of a software product must pro-
gress through several natural stages of evolution. The software development pro-
cess involves a series of development stages through which the software product 
progresses. These basic stages of software development are requirements, design, 
implementation, and testing.
Development process
Project stages
Product stagesof developmen
→
→
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