Software Process and Its Importance in brief

What is Process?
When you work to build a product or system, it’s important to go through a series of predictable steps – a road map that helps you create a timely, high-quality result. The road map that you follow is called a process.

Software Process
The road map or series of predefined steps we use to develop a software system is software process. The Implementation of software process is Software Development Life cycle. E.g. Waterfall, Iterative, V Model, Rapid Application Development (RAD), Dynamic System Development Method (DSDM) etc. This life cycle is called Process Model. [Ref: Chapter 3, SOFTWARE ENGINEERING -A Practitioner’s Approach Sixth Edition by Roger S. Pressman]

No Process followed in the game

Why process in Important
The Quality of a system is highly influenced by the quality of the process used to acquire, develop and maintain it. Software process provides stability, control and organization in development. Otherwise, the development will become chaotic, unmanageable.

Process centric work

Why Focus on Process?
It Complement your focus on Technology:
- Technology, by itself will more likely not be used efficiently
- Technology, in the context of an appropriate process roadmap, can provide the most benefit.

It complements your focus on People:
- The experience and your work force is not always enough
- Working hard is not the answer
- A well defined process can provide the mean to work smarter
- It shifts the “blame” for problem from the people to process.

When you will understand that your process is poor?
Commitment consistently missed
- Late delivery
- Last minute crunches
- Spiraling costs

No management visibility into progress
- You’re always being surprised

Quality Problem
- Too much rework
- Function do not work properly
- Customer complaints after delivery

Poor moral
- People frustrated
- Is anyone in charge?

Software Myths

Software Myths- beliefs about software and the process used to build it - can be traced to the earliest days of computing. Myths have a number of attributes that have made them insidious. For instance, myths appear to be reasonable statements of fact, they have an intuitive feel, and they are often promulgated by experienced practitioners who “know the score”.

Management Myths
Managers with software responsibility, like managers in most disciplines, are often under pressure to maintain budgets, keep schedules from slipping, and improve quality. Like a drowning person who grasps at a straw, a software manager often grasps at belief in a software myth, If the Belief will lessen the pressure.

Myth : We already have a book that’s full of standards and procedures for building software. Won’t that provide my people with everything they need to know?
Reality : The book of standards may very well exist, but is it used?
- Are software practitioners aware of its existence?
- Does it reflect modern software engineering practice?
- Is it complete? Is it adaptable?
- Is it streamlined to improve time to delivery while still maintaining a focus on Quality?
In many cases, the answer to these entire question is no.

Myth : If we get behind schedule, we can add more programmers and catch up (sometimes called the Mongolian horde concept)
Reality : Software development is not a mechanistic process like manufacturing. In the words of Brooks [BRO75]: “Adding people to a late software project makes it later.” At first, this statement may seem counterintuitive. However, as new people are added, people who were working must spend time educating the newcomers, thereby reducing the amount of time spent on productive development effort

Myth : If we decide to outsource the software project to a third party, I can just relax and let that firm build it.
Reality : If an organization does not understand how to manage and control software project internally, it will invariably struggle when it out sources software project.


Customer Myths
A customer who requests computer software may be a person at the next desk, a technical group down the hall, the marketing /sales department, or an outside company that has requested software under contract. In many cases, the customer believes myths about software because software managers and practitioners do little to correct misinformation. Myths led to false expectations and ultimately, dissatisfaction with the developers.

Myth : A general statement of objectives is sufficient to begin writing programs we can fill in details later.
Reality : Although a comprehensive and stable statement of requirements is not always possible, an ambiguous statement of objectives is a recipe for disaster. Unambiguous requirements are developed only through effective and continuous communication between customer and developer.

Myth : Project requirements continually change, but change can be easily accommodated because software is flexible.
Reality : It’s true that software requirement change, but the impact of change varies with the time at which it is introduced. When requirement changes are requested early, cost impact is relatively small. However, as time passes, cost impact grows rapidly – resources have been committed, a design framework has been established, and change can cause upheaval that requires additional resources and major design modification.


Reference
The Artical above is directly taken from the Book "SOFTWARE ENGINEERING - A practitioner's Approach by Rogher S. Pressman" Page: 45-46

Brief Overview of Software Engineering

In this article, we will see a brief overview of Software Engineering; we will try to figure out some misconception related with Software Engineering and Software Engineer e.g. “Who are Software Engineer?”

Let’s First See about Engineering

Engineering is …
The application of scientific principles and methods
To the construction of useful structures & machines

Examples
Mechanical engineering
Civil engineering
Chemical engineering
Electrical engineering
Nuclear engineering
Aeronautical engineering

Software Engineering
The term is 35 years old: NATO Conferences
- Garmisch, Germany, October 7-11, 1968
- Rome, Italy, October 27-31, 1969

The reality is finally beginning to arrive
- Computer science as the scientific basis
- Many aspects have been made systematic
1. Methods/methodologies/techniques
2. Languages
3. Tools
4. Processes

Software Engineering in a Nutshell
Development of software systems, whose size/complexity warrants team(s) of engineers
Multi-person construction of multi-version software [Parnas 1987]

Scope
Study of software process, development principles, techniques, and notations

Goal
Production of quality software, delivered on time, within budget, satisfying customers’ requirements and users’ needs

Software Engineering ≠ (IS NOT) Software Programming

Software programming is
- Single developer
- “Toy” applications
- Short lifespan
- Single or few stakeholders
- Architect = Developer = Manager = Tester = Customer = User
- One-of-a-kind systems
- Built from scratch
- Minimal maintenance

Software Engineering is
- Teams of developers with multiple roles
- Complex systems
- Indefinite lifespan
- Numerous stakeholders
- Architect ≠ Developer ≠ Manager ≠ Tester ≠ Customer ≠ User
- System families
- Reuse to amortize costs
- Maintenance accounts for over 60% of overall development costs