softwareEngineering

Software engineering is the systematic application of engineering approaches to the development, operation, and maintenance of software. It seeks to produce software that is reliable, efficient, scalable, secure, and maintainable, delivered on time and within budget. It relies on principles such as specification, design, implementation, testing, and evolution, organized through repeatable processes and verified artifacts.

The field emerged from the software crisis of the 1960s, when projects consistently ran over time and budget and failed to meet requirements. The term software engineering was popularized at a 1968 NATO conference to promote engineering discipline in software development. Since then, the practice has evolved through diverse process models, from plan-driven to iterative, incremental, and agile approaches, and through improved tooling and automation.

Software engineering covers requirements analysis, system and software design, implementation and integration, verification and validation, deployment, and maintenance. Modern practice often favors iterative, incremental development with frequent feedback from users and automated testing, continuous integration, and delivery. Architectural design, software reuse, and risk management are central concerns. Nonfunctional requirements such as performance, security, reliability, and usability are treated with specific techniques and metrics.

Standards and maturity models, such as ISO/IEC 12207, ISO/IEC 25010, and CMMI, provide guidance for process capability and product quality. Roles include software engineer, software architect, tester, project manager, and operations or DevOps engineer. Education typically combines computer science foundations with software engineering practices. Ongoing research addresses topics such as formal methods, verification, software testing, AI-assisted development, and sustainable engineering.