Software Engineering Methods

This book introduces software engineering methodologies and demonstrates how theyt augment the software development lifecycle. It bridges the gap between software development and engineering methodology. Highlighting various influencing factors throughout the process, it provides framework for applying design thinking techniques to real-world software development challenges.

Software Engineering Method: A Design Thinking Based Approach introduces readers to the[AS1] importance of methods and how to arrive at a method for their specific software development using contemporary techniques. It distinguishes between the software development lifecycle and software engineering methods, providing clarity on their roles. It introduces various influencers on methodology such as technology, problem domain, contemporary engineering practices, industry standard optimisation techniques (e.g. Lean), organisational maturity, and quality requirements. The author examines contemporary practice-driven software development methodologies and describes key practices. Through the use of a consistent example problem, the book demonstrates how to apply design thinking techniques to identify optimal solutions, while also examining contemporary, practice-driven methodologies. Each chapter builds on the previous one, culminating in the development of a comprehensive software engineering method tailored to the example problem. This practical, hands-on approach ensures readers can apply the concepts to their own projects effectively.

This book targets students and early-career professionals in software development. It helps readers identify appropriate software engineering methodologies for their projects, particularly benefiting those in startups and IT-inexperienced organizations. It also helps professionals in larger organizations understand the rationale behind their company's development methodologies.

[AS1]This is really long. Can it be tightened up?

Dr. Soumya Sankar Basu is a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and has nearly 30 years of experience in academic and software services consulting organizations. He has a PhD (Engineering) from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Jadavpur University, India. Prior to that he received his Masters in Computer Applications, and Bachelor’s with honors in Mathematics. He currently serves as a Senior Lecturer of Software Engineering and Computer Science in School of Computing and Digital Technologies, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, United Kingdom. Prior to joining the university, he worked for tier 1 software services and consulting organizations like IBM Global Business Services, PwC Consulting, and Wipro Technologies. His interest areas lie in Software Engineering, Software Systems Engineering, Software Development Methodologies, Software Architecture, Software Development, Object Oriented Programming, Design thinking, Cloud Based Application Architecting, Internet of Things and Process Automation.