Software engineer

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A software engineer is an engineer who applies the principles of software engineering to the design, development, testing, and evaluation of the software and systems that make computers or anything containing software, such as computer chips, work.

Contents

[edit] Overview

Prior to the mid-1990s, software practitioners called themselves programmers or developers, regardless of their actual jobs. Many people prefer to call themselves software developer and programmer, because most widely agree what these terms mean, while software engineer is still being debated. A prominent computing scientist, E. W. Dijkstra, wrote in a paper that the coining of the term software engineer was not a useful term since it was an inappropriate analogy, "The existence of the mere term has been the base of a number of extremely shallow --and false-- analogies, which just confuse the issue...Computers are such exceptional gadgets that there is good reason to assume that most analogies with other disciplines are too shallow to be of any positive value, are even so shallow that they are only confusing."[1]

The term programmer has often been used as a pejorative term to refer to those without the tools, skills, education, or ethics to write good quality software. In response, many practitioners called themselves software engineers to escape the stigma attached to the word programmer. In many companies, the titles programmer and software developer were changed to software engineer, for many categories of programmers.

These terms cause confusion, because some denied any differences (arguing that everyone does essentially the same thing with software) while others use the terms to create a difference (because the terms mean completely different jobs).

[edit] A state of the art

In 2004, Keith Chapple of the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 760,840 software engineers holding jobs in the U.S.; in the same period there were some 1.4 million practitioners employed in the U.S. in all other engineering disciplines combined.[2] The label software engineer is used very liberally in the corporate world. Very few of the practicing software engineers actually hold Engineering degrees from accredited universities. In fact, according to the Association for Computing Machinery, "most people who now function in the U.S. as serious software engineers have degrees in computer science, not in software engineering". See also Debates within software engineering and Controversies over the term Engineer.

[edit] Regulatory classification

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies computer software engineers as a subcategory of "computer specialists", along with occupations such as computer scientist, programmer, and network administrator.[3] The BLS classifies all other engineering disciplines, including computer hardware engineers, as "engineers".[4]

The U.K. has seen the alignment of the Information Technology Professional and the Engineering Professionals.[5]

Software engineering in Canada has seen some contests in the courts over the use of the title "Software Engineer".[6] The Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (C.C.P.E. or "Engineers Canada") will not grant a "Professional Engineer" status/license to anyone who has not completed a recognized academic engineering program.[citation needed] Engineers qualified outside Canada are similarly unable to obtain a "Professional Engineer" license.[7] Since 2001, the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board has accredited several university programs in software engineering,[8] allowing graduates to apply for a professional engineering licence once the other prerequisites are obtained, although this does nothing to help IT professionals using the title with degrees in other fields (such as computer science).

Some of the states in the United States regulate the use of terms such as "computer engineer" and even "software engineer". These states include Texas[9] and Florida.[10]

[edit] Education

Globe icon.
 The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (November 2010)

About half of all practitioners today have computer science degrees. A small, but growing, number of practitioners have software engineering degrees. In 1987 Imperial College London introduced the first three-year software engineering Bachelor's degree in the UK and the world; in the following year the University of Sheffield established a similar programme.[11] In 1996, Rochester Institute of Technology established the first software engineering Bachelor's degree program in the United States, however, it did not obtain ABET until 2003, the same time as Rice University, Clarkson University, Milwaukee School of Engineering and Mississippi State University obtained theirs.[12] In 1997 PSG College of Technology in Coimbatore, India was the first to start a five-year integrated Master of Science degree in Software Engineering.

Since then, software engineering undergraduate degrees have been established at many universities. A standard international curriculum for undergraduate software engineering degrees was recently defined by the CCSE. As of 2004, in the U.S., about 50 universities offer software engineering degrees, which teach both computer science and engineering principles and practices. The first software engineering Master's degree was established at Seattle University in 1979. Since then graduate software engineering degrees have been made available from many more universities. Likewise in Canada, the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) of the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers has recognized several software engineering programs.

In 1998, the US Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) established the first doctorate program in Software Engineering in the world.[citation needed] Additionally, many online advanced degrees in Software Engineering have appeared such as the Master of Science in Software Engineering (MSE) degree offered through the Computer Science and Engineering Department at California State University, Fullerton. Steve McConnell opines that because most universities teach computer science rather than software engineering, there is a shortage of true software engineers.[13] ETS University and UQAM were mandated by IEEE to develop the SoftWare Engineering BOdy of Knowledge SWEBOK, which has become an ISO standard describing the body of knowledge covered by a software engineer[citation needed].

[edit] Other degrees

In business, some software engineering practitioners have MIS degrees. In embedded systems, some have electrical or computer engineering degrees, because embedded software often requires a detailed understanding of hardware. In medical software, practitioners may have medical informatics, general medical, or biology degrees.[citation needed]

Some practitioners have mathematics, science, engineering, or technology degrees. Some have philosophy (logic in particular) or other non-technical degrees.[citation needed] And, others have no degrees.[citation needed] For instance, Barry Boehm earned degrees in mathematics.

[edit] Profession

[edit] Employment

See also: software engineering demographics

Most software engineers work as employees or contractors. Software engineers work with businesses, government agencies (civilian or military), and non-profit organizations. Some software engineers work for themselves as freelancers. Some organizations have specialists to perform each of the tasks in the software development process. Other organizations required software engineers to do many or all of them. In large projects, people may specialize in only one role. In small projects, people may fill several or all roles at the same time. Specializations include: in industry (analysts, architects, developers, testers, technical support, managers) and in academia (educators, researchers).

There is considerable debate over the future employment prospects for Software Engineers and other IT Professionals. For example, an online futures market called the Future of IT Jobs in America attempts to answer whether there will be more IT jobs, including software engineers, in 2012 than there were in 2002.

[edit] Certification

Professional certification of software engineers is a contentious issue.[citation needed] Some see it as a tool to improve professional practice.[citation needed]

Most successful certification programs in the software industry are oriented toward specific technologies, and are managed by the vendors of these technologies.[citation needed] These certification programs are tailored to the institutions that would employ people who use these technologies.

The ACM had a professional certification program in the early 1980s, which was discontinued due to lack of interest.[14] As of 2006, the IEEE had certified over 575 software professionals.[15] In Canada the Canadian Information Processing Society has developed a legally recognized professional certification called Information Systems Professional (ISP).[16]

[edit] Impact of globalization

Many students in the developed world have avoided degrees related to software engineering because of the fear of offshore outsourcing (importing software products or services from other countries) and of being displaced by foreign visa workers.[17] Although government statistics do not currently show a threat to software engineering itself; a related career, computer programming does appear to have been affected.[18][19] Often one is expected to start out as a computer programmer before being promoted to software engineer. Thus, the career path to software engineering may be rough, especially during recessions.

Some career counselors suggest a student also focus on "people skills" and business skills rather than purely technical skills because such "soft skills" are allegedly more difficult to offshore.[20] It is the quasi-management aspects of software engineering that appear to be what has kept it from being impacted by globalization.[21]

[edit] Prizes

There are several prizes in the field of software engineering:[22]

[edit] Debates within software engineering

[edit] Ambiguity and controversy

Main article: Controversies over the term Engineer

Typical formal definitions of software engineering are:

The term has been used less formally:

Many people believe that software engineering implies a certain level of academic training, professional discipline, adherence to formal processes, and especially legal liability that often are not applied in cases of software development. A common analogy is that working in construction does not make one a civil engineer, and so writing code does not make one a software engineer. It is disputed by some - in particular by the Canadian Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) body, that the field is not mature enough to warrant the title "engineering". The PEO disputed that "software engineering" was not an appropriate name for the field since those who practiced in the field and called themselves "software engineers" were not properly licensed professional engineers, and that they should therefore not be allowed to use the name.[29]

In each of the last few decades, at least one radical new approach has entered the mainstream of software development (e.g. Structured Programming, Object Orientation), implying that the field is still changing too rapidly to be considered an engineering discipline. Proponents argue that the supposedly radical new approaches are evolutionary rather than revolutionary.[citation needed]

Individual commentators have disagreed sharply on how to define software engineering or its legitimacy as an engineering discipline. David Parnas has said that software engineering is, in fact, a form of engineering.[30][31] Steve McConnell has said that it is not, but that it should be.[32] Donald Knuth has said that programming is an art and a science.[33] Edsger W. Dijkstra claimed that the terms software engineering and software engineer have been misused, particularly in theUnited States.[34]

[edit] Regulatory classification

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies computer software engineers as a subcategory of "computer specialists", along with occupations such as computer scientist, programmer, and network administrator.[35] The BLS classifies all other engineering disciplines, including computer hardware engineers, as "engineers".[36]

The U.K. has seen the alignment of the Information Technology Professional and the Engineering Professionals.[37]

Software engineering in Canada has seen some contests in the courts over the use of the title "Software Engineer"[38] The Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (C.C.P.E. or "Engineers Canada") will not grant a "Professional Engineer" status/license to anyone who has not completed a recognized academic engineering program.[citation needed] Engineers qualified outside Canada are similarly unable to obtain a "Professional Engineer" license.[39] Since 2001, the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board has accredited several university programs in software engineering,[40] allowing graduates to apply for a professional engineering licence once the other prerequisites are obtained, although this does nothing to help IT professionals using the title with degrees in other fields (such as computer science).

Some of the United States of America regulate the use of terms such as "computer engineer" and even "software engineer". These states include at least Texas[41] and Florida.[42] Texas even goes so far as to ban anyone from writing any real-time code without an engineering license.[citation needed]

[edit] Right to use the job title "Engineer"

The word "engineering" within the term software engineering causes a lot of confusion.

The wrangling over the status of software engineering (between traditional engineers and computer scientists) can be interpreted as a fight over control of the job title "Engineer".

The position of professional societies of traditional engineers in the U.S. (especially theNSPE) is that the job title "Engineer" can only be lawfully used by licensed Professional Engineers, and for anyone else to use it requires their approval.[citation needed] In the mid-1990s, the NSPE sued to prevent anyone from using the job title "Software Engineer". The NSPE won their lawsuit in 48 states.[citation needed]. However, SE practitioners, educators, and researchers have ignored the lawsuits and call themselves "Software Engineers" anyway. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics uses the term software engineer, too. The term engineering is much older than any regulatory body, so many believe that traditional engineers have few rights to control the term. As things stand at 2007, however, even the NSPE appears to have softened its stance towards software engineering and following the heels of several overseas precedents, is investigating a possibility of licensing software engineers in consultation with IEEE, NCEES and other groups "for the protection of the public health safety and welfare".[43]

In Canada, the use of the job title "Engineer" is controlled in each province by self-regulating professional engineering organizations, often aligned with geologists and geophysicists, and tasked with enforcement of the governing legislation. The intent is that any individual holding themselves out as an engineer (or geologist or geophysicist) has been verified to have been educated to a certain accredited level, and their professional practice is subject to a code of ethics and peer scrutiny. This system was originally designed for the practise of engineering where public safety is a concern, but extends to other branches of engineering as well, including electronics and software[citation needed].

In New Zealand, IPENZ, the professional engineering organization entrusted by the New Zealand government with legal power to license and regulate chartered engineers (CPEng), recognizes software engineering as a legitimate branch of professional engineering and accepts application of software engineers to obtain chartered status provided he or she has a tertiary degree of approved subjects. Software Engineering is included but Computer Science is normally not.[44]

[edit] Controversies over the term Engineer

Main article: Controversies over the term Engineer

Some people believe that software engineering implies a certain level of academic training, professional discipline, adherence to formal processes, and especially legal liability that often are not applied in cases of software development. A common analogy is that working in construction does not make one a civil engineer, and so writing code does not make one a software engineer. It is disputed by some - in particular by the Canadian Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) body, that the field is mature enough to warrant the title "engineering". The PEO's position was that "software engineering" was not an appropriate name for the field since those who practiced in the field and called themselves "software engineers" were not properly licensed professional engineers, and that they should therefore not be allowed to use the name.[45]

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Software engineers

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/transcriptions/EWD06xx/EWD690.html E.W.Dijkstra Archive: The pragmatic engineer versus the scientific designer
  2. ^ Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, USDL 05-2145: Occupational Employment and Wages, November 2004
  3. ^ U.S Department of Labor and Statistics The 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System: 15-0000 Computer and Mathematical Occupations
  4. ^ U.S Department of Labor and Statistics The 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System: 17-0000 Architecture and Engineering Occupations
  5. ^ 'British Computer Society' - "BCS is licensed by the Engineering Council to award Chartered Engineer status (CEng) and Incorporated Engineer status (IEng);" [1]
  6. ^ 'Professional Engineers of Ontario' - "Quebec Engineers win court battle against Microsoft"[2]
  7. ^ Council for Access to the Profession of Engineering
  8. ^ Accredited Engineering Programs in Canada
  9. ^ IEEE Software: "What do you mean I can't call myself a Software Engineer?"
  10. ^ Florida Statutes: Chapter 471: Engineering
  11. ^ Cowling, A. J. 1999. The first decade of an undergraduate degree programme in software engineering. Ann. Softw. Eng. 6, 1-4 (Apr. 1999), 61-90.
  12. ^ "ABET Accredited Engineering Programs". April 3, 2007. http://www.abet.org/accrediteac.asp. Retrieved 2007-04-03. 
  13. ^ McConnell, Steve (July 10, 2003. Professional Software Development: Shorter Schedules, Higher Quality Products, More Successful Projects, Enhanced Careers. ISBN 978-0321193674.
  14. ^ Actually the ACM made an explicit decision not to continue with certification. 1
  15. ^ IEEE Computer Society. "2006 IEEE COMPUTER SOCIETY REPORT TO THE IFIP GENERAL ASSEMBLY". http://www.ifip.org/minutes/GA2006/Tab18b-US-IEEE.pdf. Retrieved 2007-04-10. 
  16. ^ Canadian Information Processing Society. "I.S.P. Designation". http://www.cips.ca/standards/isp. Retrieved 2007-03-15. 
  17. ^ As outsourcing gathers steam, computer science interest wanes
  18. ^ Computer Programmers
  19. ^ Software developer growth slows in North America | InfoWorld | News | 2007-03-13 | By Robert Mullins, IDG News Service
  20. ^ Hot Skills, Cold Skills
  21. ^ Dual Roles: The Changing Face of IT
  22. ^ Some external links:
  23. ^ “IEEE Standard Glossary of Software Engineering Terminology,” IEEE std 610.12-1990, 1990.
  24. ^ Sommerville, Ian (2007) [1982]. "1.1.2 What is software engineering?". Software Engineering (8th ed.). Harlow, England: Pearson Education. pp. 7. ISBN 0-321-31379-8. http://www.pearsoned.co.uk/HigherEducation/Booksby/Sommerville/. "Software engineering is an engineering discipline that is concerned with all aspects of software production from the early stages of system specification to maintaining the system after it has gone into use. In this definition, there are two key phrases:
    1. Engineering discipline Engineers make things work. They apply theories, methods and tools where these are appropriate [. . .] Engineers also recognise that they must work to organisational and financial constraints. [. . .]
    2. All aspects of software production Software engineering is not just concerned with the technical processes of software development but also with activities such as software project management and with the development of tools, methods and theories to support software production."     
  25. ^ "Software Engineering". Information Processing (North-Holland Publishing Co.) 71: 530–538. 1972. 
  26. ^ Akram I. Salah (2002-04-05). "Engineering an Academic Program in Software Engineering". 35th Annual Midwest Instruction and Computing Symposium. http://www.micsymposium.org/mics_2002/SALAH.PDF. Retrieved 2006-09-13. : "For some, software engineering is just a glorified name for programming. If you are a programmer, you might put 'software engineer' on your business card—never 'programmer' though."
  27. ^ Mills, Harlan D., J. R. Newman, and C. B. Engle, Jr., "An Undergraduate Curriculum in Software Engineering," in Deimel, Lionel E. (1990). Software Engineering Education: SEI Conference 1990, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, April 2–3,.... Springer. ISBN 0-387-97274-9. ,p. 26: "As a practical matter, we regard software engineering as the necessary preparation for the practicing, software development and maintenance professional. The Computer Scientist is preparing for further theoretical studies..."
  28. ^ David Budgen, Pearl Brereton, Barbara Kitchenham, Stephen Linkman (2004-12-14). "Realizing Evidence-based Software Engineering". http://evidence.cs.keele.ac.uk/rebse.html. Retrieved 2006-10-18. : "We believe that software engineering can only advance as an engineering discipline by moving away from its current dependence upon advocacy and analysis...."
  29. ^ Sayo, Mylene. "[http://www.peo.on.ca/enforcement/June112002newsrelease.htmlWhat's in a Name? Tech Sector battles Engineers on "software engineering""]. http://www.peo.on.ca/enforcement/June112002newsrelease.html. Retrieved 2008-07-24. 
  30. ^ Parnas, David L. (1998). "Software Engineering Programmes are not Computer Science Programmes". Annals of Software Engineering 6: 19–37. doi:10.1023/A:1018949113292. , p. 19: "Rather than treat software engineering as a subfield of computer science, I treat it as an element of the set, {Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering,....}."
  31. ^ Parnas, David L. (1998). "Software Engineering Programmes are not Computer Science Programmes". Annals of Software Engineering 6: 19–37. doi:10.1023/A:1018949113292. , p. 20: "This paper argues that the introduction of accredited professional programmes in software engineering, programmes that are modelled on programmes in traditional engineering disciplines will help to increase both the quality and quantity of graduates who are well prepared, by their education, to develop trustworthy software products."
  32. ^ McConnell, Steve (August 2003). Professional Software Development: Shorter Schedules, Better Projects, Superior Products, Enhanced Careers. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley. ISBN 0-321-19367-9. , p. 39: "In my opinion, the answer to that question is clear: Professional software development should be engineering. Is it? No. But should it be? Unquestionably, yes. "
  33. ^ Knuth, Donald (1974). "Computer Programming as an Art". Communications of the ACM 17 (12): 667–673. Transcript of the 1974 Turing Award lecture.
  34. ^ Dijkstra, Edsger W; transcribed by Mario Béland (1993-12-03; transcription last revised 2004-11-23). "There is still a war going on (manuscript Austin, 3 December 1993)". E. W. Dijkstra Archive. The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Computer Sciences. http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/transcriptions/EWD11xx/EWD1165.html. Retrieved 2007-02-17. "When the term was coined in 1968 by F.L. Bauer of the Technological University of Munich, I welcomed it. [. . .] I interpreted the introduction of the term “software engineering” as an apt reflection of the fact that the design of software systems was an activity par excellence for the mathematical engineer. [. . .]. As soon the term arrived in the USA, it was relieved of all its technical content. It had to be so for in its original meaning it was totally unacceptable [. . .] In the mean time, software engineering has become an almost empty term, as was nicely demonstrated by Data General who overnight promoted all its programmers to the exalted rank of “software engineer”!" 
  35. ^ U.S Department of Labor and StatisticsThe 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System: 15-0000 Computer and Mathematical Occupations
  36. ^ U.S Department of Labor and Statistics The 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System: 17-0000 Architecture and Engineering Occupations
  37. ^ 'British Computer Society' - "BCS is licensed by the Engineering Council to award Chartered Engineer status (CEng) and Incorporated Engineer status (IEng);" [3]
  38. ^ 'Professional Engineers of Ontario' - "Quebec Engineers win court battle against Microsoft"[4]
  39. ^ Council for Access to the Profession of Engineering
  40. ^ Accredited Engineering Programs in Canada
  41. ^ IEEE Software: "What do you mean I can't call myself a Software Engineer?"
  42. ^ Florida Statutes: Chapter 471: Engineering
  43. ^ Report on 2007 NSPE Annual Conference
  44. ^ "Good Practice Guidelines for Software Engineering in New Zealand". IPENZ. http://www.ipenz.org.nz/ipenz/forms/pdfs/Software-engineering-guidelines.pdf. 
  45. ^ Sayo, Mylene. "[http://www.peo.on.ca/enforcement/June112002newsrelease.html What's in a Name? Tech Sector battles Engineers on "software engineering""]. http://www.peo.on.ca/enforcement/June112002newsrelease.html. Retrieved 2008-07-24 
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