1.1: An Overview of Software Engineering
If we look over the university departments and programs, we find disciplines generally categorized as science, engineering, business/management, or humanities. If software engineering is offered, it might be in electrical engineering, systems engineering, computer science, management, or professional development and extended learning programs. If it is not offered as a coherent course, its topics might be found in various courses, such as information systems, software development, information technology, mathematics, and more. The boundaries between software engineering and other disciplines are not distinct, and the topics of one discipline may intersect with those of another.
Watch this video of the first day of a software engineering course. The instructor spends the first half of the video exploring a haphazard way to develop a system for putting the class syllabi online. He then discusses some aspects of the systematic process to complete a course similar to this one, especially the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) projects in Unit 10. Two of these aspects are models and teams. Models are structures composed of objects representing a software system's development. The video mentions one model called the DOM (Document Object Model). The second aspect describes the performance of systematic processes by a project team, each member responsible for a defined technical or management role. In the video, the class is divided into teams of four students. The video also mentions several software tools for software development. The tools support or implement some of the activities of the SDLC. Stay calm, as this is not a programming course. You may find the 30-day free versions of software modeling useful if you have time to use them in Unit 3.