software engineering officially defined

2.16: web.adds/sw.eng/official definitions:

. ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology)
is the recognized U.S. accreditor of college and university programs
in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology.
. it is owned an operated by several pro' soc's;
most are amer'eng'ing, but some are internat':
INCOSE (internat' council on sys' eng')
started out as an amer'group:
National Council on Systems Engineering (NCOSE)
. The purpose of a Systems Engineering society
was to "(address the apparent shortage of
qualified engineers who could think in terms of
a total system — rather than just a specific discipline.)
. sys'eng'ing includes Software engineering

"(the application of computer sciences, project management,
and other techniques to create computer software.
While it started out as a mathematical discipline,
software engineering now has the characteristics of
an engineering discipline.)

Additionally, many online advanced degrees in SE have appeared
such as the MS in SE at California State University, Fullerton.

Software Engineering 2004 (SE2004) Curriculum std

"( The Software Engineering 2004 (SE2004)
is a document that provides recommendations for
undergraduate education in software engineering.
Its development was sponsored by the acm
and the IEEE Computer Society.

Important components of SE2004 include:

the SE Education Knowledge,
a list of topics that all graduates should know,
as well as a set of guidelines for implementing curricula
and a set of proposed courses.

SWEBOK (the SE BOdy of Knowledge)

. SWEBOK, which has become an ISO standard
describes the body of knowledge covered by a software engineer
The SWEBOK also defines disciplines related to software engineering
* Computer engineering
* Computer science
* Management
* Mathematics
* Quality management
* Software ergonomics (Cognitive ergonomics)
* Systems engineering
The difference from (SE2004, CCSE) is that
whereas SWEBOK defines
the software engineering knowledge that practitioners should have
after four years of practice,
the SE2004 (pdf) defines the knowledge that
an undergraduate SE grad should have
(including knowledge of mathematics, general engineering principles,
and other related areas).

swebok def of sw.eng:

The IEEE Computer Society defines SE as:
(1)
The application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach
to the development, operation, and maintenance of software;
that is, the application of engineering to software.
(2)
"The legitimization of professional authority
involves three distinctive claims:
first,
that the knowledge and competence of the professional
have been validated by a community of his or her peers;
second,
that this consensually validated knowledge rests on
rational, scientific grounds;
and third,
that the professional's judgment and advice
are oriented toward a set of substantive values,
such as [linguistically programmed automation]
These aspects of legitimacy correspond to the kinds of attributes
— collegial, cognitive, and moral —
usually embodied in the term "profession."

CHARACTERISTICS OF A PROFESSION?

Gary Ford and Norman Gibbs studied several recognized professions,
including medicine, law, engineering, and accounting.
They concluded that an engineering profession is characterized by
several components:
. an educational curriculum accreditation
. Registration of fitness to practice
via voluntary certification or mandatory licensing
. continuing education
things outside the swebok scope:
Communal support via a society [or union]
codes of ethics

Without such a consensus on a Body of Knowledge
no licensing examination can be validated,
no curriculum can prepare an individual for an examination,
and no criteria can be formulated for accrediting a curriculum.

OBJECTIVES OF THE SWEBOK PROJECT?
1. To promote a consistent view of software engineering worldwide
2. define how it differs from other disciplines
such as computer science, project management,
computer engineering, and mathematics
3. To characterize the contents of the discipline
4. To provide a topical access to it
5. To provide a foundation for curriculum development
and for individual certification and licensing material