Difference between revisions of "Software Engineering in the Systems Engineering Life Cycle"
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| − | This article describes how software engineering SwE life cycle processes integrate with the SE life cycle. | + | This article describes how software engineering SwE life cycle processes integrate with the SE life cycle. A joint workshop organized by INCOSE, the Systems Engineering Research Center and the IEEE Computer Society was held to consider this relationship (Pyster et al, 2015). This workshop concluded that: |
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| − | A joint workshop organized by INCOSE, the Systems Engineering Research Center and the IEEE Computer Society was held to consider this relationship (Pyster et al, 2015). This workshop concluded that: | ||
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| + | <blockquote>''Software is fundamental to the performance, features, and value of most modern engineering systems. It is not merely part of the system, but often shapes the system architecture; drives much of its complexity and emergent behavior; strains its verification; and drives much of the cost and schedule of its development. Given how significant an impact software has on system development and given how complex modern systems are, one would expect the relationship between the disciplines of systems engineering (SE) and software engineering (SWE) to be well defined. However, the relationship is, in fact, not well understood or articulated."''</blockquote> | ||
In this article we give some of the basic relationships between SwE and SE. | In this article we give some of the basic relationships between SwE and SE. | ||
Revision as of 21:11, 2 December 2015
This article describes how software engineering SwE life cycle processes integrate with the SE life cycle. A joint workshop organized by INCOSE, the Systems Engineering Research Center and the IEEE Computer Society was held to consider this relationship (Pyster et al, 2015). This workshop concluded that:
Software is fundamental to the performance, features, and value of most modern engineering systems. It is not merely part of the system, but often shapes the system architecture; drives much of its complexity and emergent behavior; strains its verification; and drives much of the cost and schedule of its development. Given how significant an impact software has on system development and given how complex modern systems are, one would expect the relationship between the disciplines of systems engineering (SE) and software engineering (SWE) to be well defined. However, the relationship is, in fact, not well understood or articulated."
In this article we give some of the basic relationships between SwE and SE.
Systems Engineering and Software Engineering Life Cycles
The Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBoK) (Bourque and Fairley 2014) describes the life cycle of a software product as:
- analysis and design,
- construction
- testing,
- operation,
- maintenance, and eventually
- retirement or replacement.
This life cycle is common to most other mature engineering disciplines.
In Part 3 of the SEBoK, SE and Management, there is a discussion of SE life cycle models and processes. A Generic Life Cycle Model is described, reproduced in Fig 1.below This is used to describe how the life cycle of a typical engineered system.
Fig 1…
Part 3 defines a collection of SE life cycle processes which define the activities and information needed across the SE life cycle. These processes include activities which contribute across the whole life cycle, with “humps” of focused activity in certain stages, see Applying Life Cycle Processes for details.
The Life Cycle Models knowledge area also defines how Vee and Iterative life cycle models provide a framework to tailor this generic view to different types of system development. Both models, with some modification, apply equally to the development of products and services containing software.
The following sections provide a brief discussion of how software lngineering ife cycle processes fit into SE life cycle process models. In practice the details of this relationship is a key part of how a system life cycle is planned and delivered. It will be shaped by operating domain practice and solution type. Some examples of this are provided in the Implementation Examples.
Systems Engineering and Software Engineering Standards
The Systems Engineering life cycle processes described in Part 3, SE and Management, are largely based on those defined in the ISO/IEEE/IEC SE Life Cycle Processes 15288 Standard (2015).
The SWEBoK references the equivalent ISO/IEEE/IEC Software Engineering Life Cycle Processes 12207 Standard (2008), which defines a very similar set of processes for software systems. Figure 2 shows the relationship between the Enabling, Acquisition, Project and Technical Systems and Software processes in both 15288 and 12207 and the software specific processes of ISO/IEEE/IEC 12207. This alignment is from the last updates of both 12207 and 15288 in 2008. The SE processes have been further updated in 15288:2015, see Systems Engineering and Management for details. This change has not yet been applied to 12207. An update of 12207 is planned for 2016, in which the alignment to 15288 will be reviewed. See Alignment and Comparison of the Standards for more discussion of the relationships between the standards.
Fig 2 Aligned Process Models for ISO/IEC 15288 & 12207: 2008 (Adapted from Roedler 2011). Reprinted with permission of Garry Roedler. All other rights are reserved by the copyright owner.
The 12207 software standard considers two situations:
- The life cycle of software product, should use the software specific processes
- The life cycle of systems with a significant software content (sometimes called software intensive systems) should integrate the software processes into the SE life cycle processes.
The second of these is the one relevant to the practice of SE. The simple view of this is that software engineering implementation processes are used in the life cycle to support the implementation of software system elements. The software support and reuse processes support the related SE processes across the whole system life cycle.
References
Works Cited
Bourque, P. and R.E. Fairley (eds.). 2014. Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK). Los Alamitos, CA, USA: IEEE Computer Society. Available at: http://www.swebok.org
ISO/IEC/IEEE. 2015. Systems and Software Engineering -- System Life Cycle Processes. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organisation for Standardisation / International Electrotechnical Commissions / Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288:2015.
ISO/IEEE. 2008. Systems and Software Engineering — Software Life Cycle Processes. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standards (ISO)/Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Computer Society, ISO/IEEE 12207:2008(E).
Roedler, G. 2011. "Towards Integrated Systems and Software Engineering Standards." National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Conference, San Diego, CA, USA.
Primary References
Roedler, G. 2011. "Towards Integrated Systems and Software Engineering Standards." National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Conference, San Diego, CA, USA.
Additional References
Roedler, G. 2010. An Overview of ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288, System Life Cycle Processes. Asian Pacific Council on Systems Engineering (APCOSE) Conference.
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