Softwareartefakt

SoftwareArtefakt is a term used in software engineering to denote any artifact produced during the software development lifecycle. The compound reflects that artefacts can be technical or documentation-based items created or evolved in the course of building software, not only executable programs.

Common examples include source code, compiled binaries, libraries and dependencies, design models, requirements specifications, test cases and results, build scripts, configuration files, deployment manifests, release notes, and user manuals. Artefacts may be produced at different stages and serve as inputs to later steps.

Management of software artefacts typically involves version control, metadata capture (author, date, rationale, relationships), and storage in an artifact repository or a repository-backed workflow. Traceability links artefacts to requirements, tests, and deployments, supporting reproducibility, auditing, and impact analysis.

In practice, artefact management is integrated with continuous integration and delivery pipelines. Practices such as SBOM generation, dependency auditing, and reproducible builds help ensure provenance, security, and compliance across teams and organizations.

The concept is widely used in software engineering literature and in industry as a neutral umbrella for the tangible products of development. It emphasizes that every deliverable — from code to documentation — plays a role in the software system’s lifecycle.