Advanced Software Engineering

(CS6401)
Autumn Semester (2023-2024)

Dr. Judhistir Mahapatro

Department of Computer Science and
Engineering
National Institute of Technology Rourkela
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 Introduction to Software and
Software Engineering (Lecture-1)

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Organization of this Lecture:
 Nature of software
 Nature of software projects
 What is Software Engineering?
 Programs vs. Software Products
 Software Process
 Introduction to Life Cycle Models
 Summary

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Software

• Instructions (computer programs) that when executed

provide desired features, function, and performance

• Data structures that enable the programs to

adequately manipulate information, and

• Descriptive information in both hard copy and virtual

forms that describes the operation and use of the
programs.

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Characteristics
• Software is developed or engineered; it is not
manufactured in the classical sense.
• Similarity exist between software development and
hardware manufacturing, but two activities are different.
• High quality is achieved through good design, but
hardware manufacturing introduces quality problems that
are easily corrected for software
• Relationship between people applied and work
accomplished is entirely different
• Both activities require the construction of a product, but
approaches are different
• Software costs are concentrated in engineering; software
project management is different from hardware
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 Characteristics
• Software does not wear out.
• Hardware failure rate resembles Bathtub curve
• Relatively high failure rates early in its life
• Often attributable to design or manufacturing defects
• Failure rate drops to steady-state level due to correction
of defects
• Failure rate rises as hardware components suffer from
cumulative effects of dust, vibration, and temperature etc.
• But software is not susceptible to those environmental
maladies.
• Failure curves of hardware and software are given in the next
slide.
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Failure curve for hardware

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Failure curve for software

• Software does not wear out. But it does deteriorate.

• There are no spare parts.
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Characteristics
• Although the industry is moving toward
component-based construction, most software
continues to be custom built
• Reusable components have been created so that
engineer can concentrate on the truly innovative
elements of a design
• Example: Screws used by mechanical engineers
• It has only begun to be achieved on a broad scale.

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Nature of software projects
• Ubiquitous, used in variety of applications – Business, engineering and
scientific applications
• System Software,
• Application Software,
• Scientific Software,
• Embedded Software,
• Web applications etc.

• Simple to complex, public usage (example, railway ticket reservation

system), single function to enterprise-wide (example, payroll), one
location to distributed, batch or real-time, informational to mission-
critical etc.
Major challenges in large projects

• Developing large/complex software application is very

challenging
• Effort intensive
• High cost
• Long development time
• Changing needs for users
• High risk of failure, user acceptance, performance,
maintainability
Successful software system

• Software development projects have not been always

successful (compared to other engineering disciplines).
• When do we consider a software application successful?
• Development completed
• It is useful
• It is usable
• It is used
Reasons for failure

• Schedule Slippage – not released at appropriate time

• Cost over-runs
• Does not solve user’s problem
• Poor quality of software (may not be maintainable)

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Ad hoc software development results in
such problem:
• No planning of development work (e.g., no milestones
are defined)
• Deliverable are not defined
• Technical incompetency of developers
• No control over review (Review the progress of the
system because enough money is spent in it and keep
updated with the recent trends)
• Poor understanding of the user requirements
• Poor understanding of the cost and effort by both
developer and user

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Engineering: other disciplines

• Large projects common and successfully done

• building bridges and dams
• Power plants, Missiles
• Engineering a solution:
• to design and develop an artefact that meets
specifications effectively, cost effectively and ensuring
the quality using scientific principles
Engineering:

• Requires well-defined approach: repeatable, predictable

• Large projects requires managing the project itself
• Manage people, money, equipment schedule
• Scale makes big difference: compare building a house,
2-storeyed, or 100-storeyed
• Need a systematic approach and management
• Quality extremely important: relates failures, efficiency
and usability
• People willing to pay for quality.
 What is Software Engineering?

• Engineering approach to develop software.

• Building Construction Analogy.
• Systematic collection of past experience:
• techniques,
• methodologies,
• guidelines.

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Engineering Practice
• Heavy use of past experience:
• Past experience is systematically arranged.
• Theoretical basis and quantitative techniques provided.
• Many are just thumb rules.
• Trade-off between alternatives
• Pragmatic approach to cost-effectiveness

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Software Crisis

• Software products:
• fail to meet user requirements.
• frequently crash.
• expensive.
• difficult to alter, debug, and enhance.
• often delivered late.
• use resources non-optimally.

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Software Crisis (cont.)

Hw cost
Sw cost

1960 Year
2017
Relative Cost of Hardware and Software

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Factors contributing to the software crisis

• Larger problems
• Lack of adequate training in software engineering
techniques
• Increasing skill shortage
• Low productivity improvements

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Software Crisis (cont.)

• Software Engineering appears to be available to tackle

the software crisis.

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Programs versus Software Products

• Usually small in size • Large

• Author himself is sole user • Large number of users
• Single developer • Team of developers
• Lacks proper user interface • Well-designed interface
• Lacks proper documentation• Well documented & user-
manual prepared
• Ad hoc development. • Systematic development

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Computer Systems Engineering
• Computer systems engineering:
• encompasses software engineering.

• Many products require development of software as

well as specific hardware to run it:
• a coffee vending machine,
• a mobile communication product, etc.

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Computer Systems Engineering
• The high-level problem:
• deciding which tasks are to be solved by software
• which ones by hardware.

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Computer Systems Engineering (Cont..)

• Often, hardware and software are developed together:

• Hardware simulator is used during software
development.

• Integration of hardware and software.

• Final system testing

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Computer Systems Engineering (CONT.)

Feasibility
Study
Requirements
Analysis and
Specification Hardware
Development
Hardware
Software
Partitioning
Software
Development Integration
and Testing

Project Management

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Large projects:
• Deliverables: architecture, model, structure diagram,
electrical cabling layouts

• Standards, regulations, conventions need to be followed

(contribute towards success of the software)

• Continuous monitoring is in place to have progress in its

developments

• It is difficulty to assess the progress because it does not

have any physical dimensions (in case building you can
see the storeyed developed to till date)
Software Projects
• Software is different from other products

• Cost of production concentrated in development

(once it is developed its copy will be installed in
various places)

• Maintenance consists of making corrections and

enhancing or adding functions

• Progress in development is difficult to measure

Apply engineering approach:
• Hence planning and control even more important in
software development
• Attempt estimate cost/effort
• Plan and schedule work
• Involve user in defining requirements
• Identify stages in development
• Define clearly the milestones so that the progress can be
measured
• Schedule reviews both for control and quality
• Define deliverables
• Plan extensive testing
Note: We need to put all of these in the form of process and
we use this as an engineering approach.
Job of software developer is difficult
• Dealing with users
• ill-defined requirements (what they expect from the
software is not clearly defined)
• Concern with ease-of-use and response time
• Dealing with technical people
• Concerned with coding, databases, file structures etc
• Dealing with management
• Concerned with return on their investment
• Cost-benefit analysis
• Schedule
Note: Balance the expectations of people who are
associated with this project.
 For success in large software developments, it is
important to follow an engineering approach, consisting
of a well-defined process.
Software Process
• Process consists of steps/activities to be carried out in
a particular order

• Software process deals with both technical and

management issues

• Consists of different types of process

• Process for software development:

• produces software as end-result
• multiple such processes may exist
• a project follows a particular process
Process types

• Process for managing the project

• defines project planning and control (supervising the plan)
• effort estimations made and schedule prepare
• resources are provided
• feedback taken for quality assurance
• monitoring done

• Process for change and configuration management

• Resolving requests for changes
• Defining versions and their compositions
• Release control
 Process types

• Process for managing above processes themselves

• Improving the processes based on new tools and
techniques
• Standardizations and Certifications (ISO, CMM)
Multiple processes

• A large software development company may have

multiple development processes
• For client-server based conventional applications
(example, sales processing, payroll etc.)

• For enterprise-level (ERP) projects based on

packages and customization

• For data-warehousing/decision-support type

• The company may have many projects going under

each category. They may refine these processes to
suit the type of projects.
Step in a process
• Each step has a well-defined objective

• Requires people with specific skills (e.g., design of a

database, you require certain skills to carry such
activity)

• Takes specific inputs and produces well-defined

outputs
Step in a process

• Step defines when it may begin (entry criteria) and when

it ends (exit criteria)

• Example: The phase exit criteria for the software

requirements specification phase:
• Software Requirements Specification (SRS)
document is complete, reviewed, and approved by
the customer.
• A phase can start:
• only if its phase-entry criteria have been satisfied.
Process step..

• Uses specific techniques, tools, guidelines and

conventions.

• Step must be executed as per project plan that gives

duration, effort, resources, constraints, etc.
 Process step..
• It must produce information for management so that the
corrective actions can be taken

• For example, effort estimated may be felt not appropriate,

in order to deliver within the stipulated time, you may need
more people to complete it. Such information should be
produced by each step for the management

• For example, adding more resources

 Process step..
• A step ends in a review (V&V)

• Verification: check consistency of the outputs with inputs

(of the step)

• Validation: Check consistency with the user needs

(meets the user specification)
Process step

(Exit
(Entry
Criteria)
criteria) Actions to be Review
Inputs carried out (V&V) Outputs

Information
Project for
Control Management
Information
Characteristics of a Good Process

• Should be precisely defined – no ambiguity about

what is to be done, when, how, etc.
• It must be predictable-can be repeated in other
projects with confidence about its outcome
• Predictable with respect to effort, cost:
Project 1: Web-based library application done by 3
persons in 4 months
Project 2: Guest house booking, similar in
complexity should also take about 12 person
months.
• We can extrapolate the projects.
A Good process

• Predictable for quality: with respect to number and type

of defects, performance
• Predictable process is said to be under statistical control,
when actual values are close to the expected values.
• It supports testing and maintainability
• Maintenance by third party
• Follow standards, provide necessary documentation
• This characteristic differentiates between prototype and
product

• Facilitates early detection of and removal of defects

• Defects add to project cost
• Late detection/correction is costly
A Good process

• It should facilitate monitoring and improvement

• Based on feedback
• Permit use of new tools and technologies
• Permit measurements
Software Life Cycle (or software process)
• series of identifiable stages that a software product
undergoes during its life time:
• Feasibility study
• requirements analysis and specification
• design
• coding
• testing
• maintenance

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Life Cycle Model (CONT.)

• a descriptive and diagrammatic model of software life

cycle

• identifies all the activities required for product

development,

• establishes a precedence ordering among the

different activities,

• Divides life cycle into phases.

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Life Cycle Model (CONT.)

• Several different activities may be carried out in each

life cycle phase or step.
• For example, the design stage might consist of:

• structured analysis activity followed by

• structured design activity.

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Why Model Life Cycle ?

• A written description:
• forms a common understanding of activities among
the software developers.

• helps in identifying inconsistencies, redundancies,

and omissions in the development process

• Helps in tailoring a process model for specific

projects

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Why Model Life Cycle ?

• Processes are tailored for special projects.

• A documented process model
• helps to identify where the tailoring is to
occur.

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Life Cycle Model (CONT.)
• The development team must identify a suitable life
cycle model:

• and then adhere to it.

• Primary advantage of adhering to a life cycle

model:
• development of software takes place in a
systematic and disciplined manner.

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Life Cycle Model (CONT.)
• When a program is developed by a single programmer
• he has the freedom to decide his exact steps.

• When a software product is being developed by a team:

• there must be a precise understanding among team
members as to when to do what,
• Otherwise, it would lead to chaos and project failure.

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 Life Cycle Model (CONT.)
• A software project will never succeed if:
• one engineer starts writing code,

• another concentrates on writing the test document

first,
• yet another engineer first defines the file structure

• another defines the I/O for his portion first.

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Life Cycle Model (CONT.)
• When a life cycle model is adhered to,
• the project manager can at any time fairly
accurately tell,
• at which stage (e.g., design, code, test, etc. ) of
the project is.
• Otherwise, it becomes very difficult to track the
progress of the project
• the project manager would have to depend on the
guesses of the team members.

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Life Cycle Model (CONT.)

• This usually leads to a problem:

• known as the 99% complete syndrome.

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Summary

• A fundamental necessity while developing any

large software product:
• adoption of a life cycle model.

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Summary

• Adherence to a software life cycle model:

• helps to do various development activities in a
systematic and disciplined manner.
• also makes it easier to manage a software
development effort.

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Reference
 R. S. Pressman, Software Engineering A Practitioner's Approach,
McGraw Hill Publications , 2006

 R. Mall, Fundamentals of Software Engineering, Prentice Hall of

India , 2014

 I. Sommerville, Software Engineering, Pearson Education, Asia ,

2006

 P. Jalote, An Integrated Approach to Software Engineering,

Narosa , 2006
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