Why Study Software Engineering?
Software Engineering in Historical Perspective
Software is everywhere today – from simple mobile apps to large, safety-critical systems used in healthcare, transport, defence and finance. Because so many real-world activities now depend on software, it is no longer enough to “just code”. We need a disciplined way of building software systems that are reliable, maintainable and cost-effective. This is the role of software engineering.
The evolution of modern computing began in the 1940s with the first electronic digital computers. In the 1970s, the C programming language emerged and quickly became a foundational language for system software, operating systems (such as UNIX), and later many applications that supported the rise of personal computing. The appearance of early microcomputers marked an important milestone, bringing computing power closer to individuals and small organisations.
The term “software engineering” was formally introduced in 1968 at a NATO conference in Germany. The main concern at that time was that software projects were frequently late, over budget, unreliable or difficult to maintain. The community recognised the need to treat software development as an engineering discipline, with systematic processes and an emphasis on quality, maintainability and predictable cost.
During the 1970s and 1980s, structured methods and the concept of a Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) became widely adopted. The SDLC provided an organised framework for planning, analysing, designing, implementing, testing and maintaining software systems.
The mid-1990s brought another major turning point with the rapid growth of the Internet and the World Wide Web, which dramatically expanded the scale, connectivity and impact of software systems. Since then, software engineering has continued to evolve and now underpins almost every aspect of modern life and technology.
- 1940s: First electronic digital computers.
- 1968: “Software engineering” formally introduced at the NATO conference.
- 1970s–1980s: Structured methods and SDLC gain widespread use.
- Mid-1990s onwards: Internet and web applications multiply the reach and complexity of software.