The term “Software Engineering” is flawed, according to Neil Ernst, and I agree completely: it is a metaphor that conveys all sorts of incorrect connotations about the diverse and complex nature of software development. I don’t use it anymore if I can avoid it, and neither should you.
We do not study software engineering
June 6, 2009 · 10 Comments
Categories: Academia · Software development
10 responses so far ↓
Greg Wilson // June 6, 2009 at 11:25 am |
What should one use instead?
Alicia // June 30, 2009 at 5:30 pm |
We should use Applied Computer Science.
Jorge // June 6, 2009 at 6:23 pm |
I think we should simply use “software development”. It is more accurate and less subject to bias.
mcyclops // June 10, 2009 at 9:48 am |
So, all my friends from the ITESM studying Software Engineering, are they screwed?
Jorge // June 10, 2009 at 10:47 am |
ITESM doesn’t offer software engineering programs! The closest they do is computer systems engineering.
mcyclops // June 10, 2009 at 11:37 am |
You have yout mouth stuck with true, my bad. I just realised that even my old degree is not offered anymore, but I was under the impression that they offered software engineer in the 95-05 cycle… couldn’t verify it.
Robert // June 14, 2009 at 7:33 am |
I do not understand this point. “software development” as I understand it, is the activity of developing software (designing, programming, maintaining), while “software engineering” is (for whatever reasons, historic, pathetic, and naively optimistic) the term for the scientific field studying software development. We do not take the word literally, but take it for the compound has come to mean.
Were you to boycott it for being misleading, you would also have to boycott “United States of America” and a whole lot other words.
Jorge // June 14, 2009 at 8:30 am |
The term “software engineering” is used by practitioners and researchers alike. The field of study is commonly called “software engineering *research*”.
Perhaps you do not take the term literally. I know that many researchers do. And even for those that do not take it literally, the term suggests activities and strategies that work on an engineering domain, but not in ours –the term biases our understanding of our own field.
I do not want to boycott anything, though. Perhaps I’m the one in the wrong. But it’s funny you mention “United States of America”:.see for instance some of the effects of the term in Latin America here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monroe_Doctrine#Criticism
civilclub // June 16, 2009 at 12:45 am |
Thanks for this great post.
I’m a Software Engineering Intern (EIT) « Normally-On // June 30, 2009 at 6:11 pm |
[...] 2009} I’m a Software Engineering Intern (EIT) Today in our weekly meeting and in Jorge and Neil’s blogs there has been some discussion about the use of the term software [...]