What is Software Engineering?
Software Engineering is an engineering branch related to the evolution of software products using systematic well-defined scientific principles, techniques, and procedures. The result of software engineering is an effective and reliable software product. Software engineer always will be problem solvers.
Why is Software Engineering required?
Software Engineering is required due to the following reasons:
- To manage Large software
- For more Scalability
- Cost Management
- To manage the dynamic nature of software
- For better quality Management
Why is Software Engineering required?
The necessity of software engineering appears because of a higher rate of progress in user requirements and the environment in which the program is working.
- Huge Programming: It is simpler to manufacture a wall than to a house or building, similarly, as the measure of programming becomes extensive engineering has to step to give it a scientific process.
- Adaptability: If the software procedure were not based on scientific and engineering ideas, it would be simpler to re-create new software than to scale an existing one.
- Cost: As the hardware industry has demonstrated its skills and huge manufacturing has let down the cost of computer and electronic hardware. But the cost of programming remains high if the proper process is not adapted.
- Dynamic Nature: The continually growing and adapting nature of programming hugely depends upon the environment in which the client works. If the quality of the software is continually changing, new upgrades need to be done to the existing one.
- Quality Management: Better procedure of software development provides a better and quality software product than others.
Characteristics of a good software engineer
The features that good software engineers should possess are as follows:
- Exposure to systematic methods, i.e., familiarity with software engineering principles.
- Good technical knowledge of the project range (Domain knowledge).
- Programming abilities.
- Nice communication skills. These skills comprise oral, written, and interpersonal skills.
- High motivation.
- Sound knowledge of fundamentals of computer science.
- Ability to work in a team
- Discipline
Importance of Software Engineering
(1) Reduces complexity:
• Large software systems are always complicated and challenging to progress.
• Software engineering divides big problems into various small issues. And then start solving each small issue one by one.
• All these small problems are solved independently of each other and then integrated together to produce the software product.
(2) To minimize software cost:
• A lot of resources are required to develop large-scale software systems, such as manpower, software licenses, hardware…etc.
• As companies seek to build cutting-edge software to drive growth, determining the overall budget becomes very tricky.
• This engineering provides systematic means for having regular interaction and obtaining budget estimates.
Importance of Software Engineering
(3) To decrease time:
- One of the main criteria to measuring project success and yet the most challenging is delivering software projects on time.
- Schedule issues are the main reason for conflicts on projects, especially during the second half of projects where the actual implementation takes place to produce the final working product.
- This engineering involves the processes required to ensure timely completion of a project.
(4) Handling Big projects:
- Big projects are not done in a couple of days, because they need lots of work, planning, and management. And to invest six and seven months in any company requires heaps of planning, direction, testing, and maintenance.
- Companies provide many resources to the plan to be completed.
- So to handle a big project without any problem, the company has to go for software engineering methods.
Importance of Software Engineering
(5) Reliable software:
• This field reliability is the “probability that the software will execute for a particular period of time without failure”. • Software engineering provides models for software quality measurements and evaluations. Examples include models for estimating defects inserted then removed throughout the software lifecycle.
(6) Effectiveness:
• Effectiveness means getting the desired results/ doing the right thing!
• From example: achieving missions and goals; generating satisfied customers; producing work of high quality.
• This includes proper use of communication, technology, organizational as well as individual knowledge, and resources.
Scope of software engineering
There is a wrong perception of Software Engineering in the mind of people. People think Software Engineering is about developing software and writing code. But in reality, Software Engineering is totally different.
You can watch the video in the Urdu language for further demonstration.
People consider software engineering the same as computer science because software engineering is the sub-discipline of Computer Science.
Developing countries are witnessing huge growth in the IT industry. But we are not seeing any progress in the field of Big data and artificial intelligence.
Similarly, the companies associated with the technology sector are not focusing on Software Quality Assurance and information processing.
At the same time, Universities are not working according to the standard of Software Engineer.
I’ll recommend computer science instead of this engineering for the students.
In computer science, you are not limited to specific topics but the overall computing field.
You can work in different fields like:
Graphic Designing
Web Designing
Software Development
Android application developer
Web Development
Videography
Animation Design
Big Data
Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
And many more.
Before entering into the field of computer science you need to go through the process of research for a suitable university. so the is now increasing day by day.
Software Engineering vs. Computer Science
- Computer science is concerned with theory and fundamentals; This field involves the understanding and application of both abstract and concrete knowledge.
- Software engineering is a field largely concerned with the application of engineering processes to the creation, maintenance, and design of software for a variety of different purposes.
Software Engineering vs. System Engineering?
- Software engineering is concerned with all aspects of computer-based systems development including hardware, software, and process engineering.
- System engineers are involved in system specification, architectural design, integration, as well as deployment.
- A software engineer is part of this process concerned with developing the software infrastructure, control, applications, and databases in the system. Because the database is the main part.
- Systems engineering is older than Software Engineering:
- Complex industrial systems such as trains and chemical plants.
- As the percentage of software systems has increased, software engineering techniques are finding their way into systems engineering.
Employment
- Specialist IT firms – such as IT consultancies, large IT providers, software development, internet providers and training firms; organizations that use IT software, systems, and equipment, including retailers, law firms, business intelligence, and market research organizations, education providers, the armed forces as well as the public sector, and voluntary sector organizations.
- Manufacturing industry – including automotive, navigation, telecommunications, manufacturing, and construction companies.
- Financial services – including global investment banks, financial/banking organizations, security market specialists, and the pensions sector.
- Public utilities – covering energy and water supply, energy extraction, and transport.
Software Engineer Job Duties - Analyzing user requirements
- Testing code, refining and rewriting it as necessary
- Researching and designing new software programs
- Developing existing programs by analyzing and identifying areas for modification
- Integrating existing software products and getting incompatible platforms to work together
- Creating technical specifications
- Writing operational documentation with technical authors
- Maintaining systems by monitoring and correcting software defects
Software Engineer Job Duties
- Working closely with other staff, such as project managers, graphic artists, user experience (UX) designers, other developers, systems analysts, and sales and marketing professionals.
- Consulting clients and colleagues concerning the maintenance and performance of software systems with a view to writing or modifying current operating systems
- Investigating new technologies
Recent Facts About Software Engineer
Job Opportunities After examining millions of LinkedIn profiles of software engineer, it was found by that most engineers fit into six areas:
- Test and Quality Assurance Engineers: The most gender-diverse group because women represent only around 30 percent of its talent pool.
- Mobile Engineers: The second-biggest specialty and they’re also the youngest cohort – 37 percent of these engineers have less than 10 years of experience, more than any other specialty.
- Front-End Engineers: By far the biggest talent pool, their population is more than double that of the second-biggest specialty.
- Infrastructure and Cloud Computing Engineers: 77 percent of infrastructure and cloud professionals have more than 10 years of experience.
- Embedded and Application Engineers: These engineers focus primarily on the IoT and are one of the smallest talent pools, but also the most experienced. It’s also the least gender-diverse.
- Machine Learning and Data Science Engineers: The smallest specialty – and the most in-demand.