ABSTRACT
This paper suggests the need for a software engineering research community conversation about the future that the community would like to have. The paper observes that the research directions the community has taken in the past, dating at least back to the formative NATO Conferences in the late 1960's, have been driven largely by desire to meet the needs of practice. The paper suggests that the community should discuss whether it is now appropriate to balance this problem-solving-oriented research with a stronger complement of curiosity-driven research. This paper does not advocate what that balance should be. Neither does it advocate what curiosity driven research topics should be pursued (although illustrative examples are oflered). It does does advocate the need for a community conversation about these questions.
- {1} C. Alexander, Notes on the Synthesis of Form, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1964.Google Scholar
- {2} R. W. Bemer, "Checklist for planning software system production", in P. Naur and B. Randell, eds., Software Engineering, Report on a conference sponsored by the NATO SCIENCE COMMITTEE, Garmisch, Germany, 7-1 1 October 1968. Scientific Affairs Division NATO, Brussels, Belgium, pp. 165-181. Also available at http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/N ATO/nato 1968.PDF.Google Scholar
- {3} J. N. Buxton and B. Randell, eds., Software Engineering Techniques, Report on a conference sponsored by the NATO SCIENCE COMMITTEE, Rome, Italy, 27-31 October 1969. Scientific Affairs Division NATO, Brussels, Belgium, also available at http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/N ATO/nato1969.PDF. Google ScholarDigital Library
- {4} E. W. Dijkstra, "Complexity controlled by hierarchical ordering of function and variability", in P. Naur and B. Randell, eds., Software Engineering, Report on a conference sponsored by the NATO SCIENCE COMMITTEE, Gannisch, Germany, 7-11 October 1968. Scientific Affairs Division NATO, Brussels, Belgium, pp. 181-186. Also available at http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.rande11/N ATO/nato 1968.PDF.Google Scholar
- {5} J. Estublier, D. Leblang, A. van der Hoek, R. Conradi, G. Clemm, W. Tichy, and D. Wiborg-Weber, "The Impact of Software Engineering Research on the Practice of Software Configuration Management", ACM Transactions on Software Engineering Methodology, 14,4, Oct. 2005, pp. 383-430. Google ScholarDigital Library
- {6} S. Gill, "Thoughts on the sequence of writing software" in P. Naur and B. Randell, eds., Software Engineering, Report on a conference sponsored by the NATO SCIENCE COMMITTEE, Garmisch, Germany, 7-11 October 1968. Scientific Affairs Division NATO, Brussels, Belgium, pp. 186-189. Also available at http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/N ATO/nato 1968.PDF.Google Scholar
- {7} J. Goguen, J. Thatcher, and E. Wagner, "An Initial Algebra Approach to the Specification, Correctness, and Implementation of Abstract Data Types," in Current Trends in Programming Methodology, K 4, Data Structuring, R Yeh (ed.), Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1978, pp. 80-149.Google Scholar
- {8} B. H. Liskov and S. N. Zilles. "Specification Techniques for Data Abstractions" IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, v. 1, #1, 1975, pp. 7-19.Google Scholar
- {9} A. I. Llewelyn and R. F. Wickens, "The testing of computer software", in P. Naur and B. Randell, eds., Software Engineering, Report on a conference sponsored by the NATO SCIENCE COMMITTEE, Garmisch, Germany, 7- 11 October 1968. Scientific Affairs Division NATO, Brussels, Belgium, pp. 189-200. Also available at http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/N ATO/nato 1968.PDF.Google Scholar
- {10} M. Mahoney, "Software as Science--Science as Software", in History of Computing: Software Issues, U. Hashagen, R. Keil-Slawik and A. Norberg (eds.), Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany, 2002, pp. 25-48. Also available at http://www.princeton.edu/%7Emike/softsci.htm. Google ScholarDigital Library
- {11} M.D. McIlroy, "'Mass Produced' software components", in P. Naur and B. Randell, eds., Software Engineering, Report on a conference sponsored by the NATO SCIENCE COMMITTEE, Garmisch, Germany, 7-11 October 1968. Scientific Affairs Division NATO, Brussels, Belgium, pp. 138-151. Also available at http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/N ATO/nato1968.PDF.Google Scholar
- {12} P Naur and B. Randell, eds, Software Engineering, Report on a conference sponsored by the NATO SCIENCE COMMITTEE, Garmisch, Germany, 7-11 October 1968. Scientific Affairs Division NATO, Brussels, Belgium. Also available at http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/N ATO/nato 1968.PDF. Google ScholarDigital Library
- {13} L. J. Osterweil, "Software Processes Are Software Too, Reviqited", Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE 1997), Boston, MA, May 1997, pp. 540-548. Google ScholarDigital Library
- {14} L. Osterweil, C. Ghezzi, J. Kramer, and A. Wolf, "Editorial", ACM Transactions on Software Engineering Methodology, 14, 4, Oct. 2005, pp. 381-382. Google ScholarDigital Library
- {15} R. Park. "Software Size Measurement: A Framework for Counting Source Statements," Software Engineering Institute, Camegie-Mellon University Technical Report # CMU/SEI-92-TR-020, ADA258304, Pittsburgh, PA. Also available at http://www.sei.cmu.edu/publications/documents/92.reports/9 2.tr.020.html.Google Scholar
- {16} D. L. Parnas, "On the Criteria to be Used for Decomposing Systems into Modules", Communications of the ACM, v. 15, #12, Dec. 1972, pp. 1053-1058. Google ScholarDigital Library
- {17} A. J. Perlis, Keynote speech, 1968 NATO Conference, in P. Naur and B. Randell, eds., Software Engineering, Report on a conference sponsored hy the NATO SCIENCE COMMITTEE, Gannisch, Germany, 7-11 October 1968. Scientific Affairs Division NATO, Brussels, Belgium, pp. 135-138. Also available at http:/homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/N ATO/nato 1968.PDF.Google Scholar
- {18} T. B. Pinkerton, "Performance monitoring and systems evaluation", in P. Naur and B. Randell, eds., Software Engineering, Report on a conference sponsored by the NATO SCIENCE COMMITTEE, Garmisch, Germany, 7-11 October 1968. Scientific Affairs Division NATO, Brussels, Belgium, pp. 200-204. Also available at http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/N ATO/nato 1968.PDF.Google Scholar
- {19} Plato, The Republic, Book VII, 360BC. Translated by Benjamin Jowett, P. F. Collier, New York, copyright 1901 The Colonial Press. Also available at http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/publications/plat o_republic.htm, Markup, Copyright 1995, Institute for Learning Technologies.Google Scholar
- {20} A. Pretschner, M. Broy, I. Kriiger, T. Stauner: "Software Engineering for Automotive Systems: A Roadmap", in Future of Software Engineering 2007, L. Briand and A. Wolf (eds.), IEEE-CS Press, 2007. Google ScholarDigital Library
- {21} B. Randell, "Towards a methodology of computing systems design", in P. Naur and B. Randell, eds., Software Engineering, Report on a conference sponsored by the NATO SCIENCE COMMITTEE, Garmisch, Germany, 7-11 October 1968. Scientific Affairs Division NATO, Brussels, Belgium, pp. 204-209. Also available at http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/N ATO/nato 1968.PDF.Google Scholar
- {22} W. Schäfer, H. Wehrheim, "The Challenges of Building Advanced Mechatronic Systems", in Future of Software Engineering 2007, L. Briand and A. Wolf (eds.), IEEE-CS Press, 2007. Google ScholarDigital Library
- {23} C. Strachey, in J. N. Buxton and B. Randell, eds., Software Engineering Techniques, Report on a conference sponsored by the NATO SCIENCE COMMITTEE, Rome, Italy, 27-31 October 1969. Scientific Affairs Division NATO, Brussels, Belgium, pp. 9-12. Also available at http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/N ATO/nato 1969.PDF.Google Scholar
- {24} R. N. Taylor and A. van der Hoek, "Software Design and Architecture: The Once and Future Focus of Software Engineering", in Future of Software Engineering 2007, L. Briand and A. Wolf (eds.), IEEE-CS Press, 2007. Google ScholarDigital Library
Index Terms
- A Future for Software Engineering?
Recommendations
Development of software engineering: co-operative efforts from academia, government and industry
ICSE '06: Proceedings of the 28th international conference on Software engineeringIn the past 40 years, software engineering has emerged as an important sub-field of computer science. The quality and productivity of software have been improved and the cost and risk of software development been decreased due to the contributions made ...
Comments