
We Are On the Right Track …

Three years ago, I made a presentation lamenting the state of software engineering education and tried to suggest possible directions for its improvement. At that time I was talking about the five Ps of Software Engineering:
People with proper general education, communication and team skills, as well as knowledge of professional ethics;
Process – ISO, CMM or any other of one’s choosing;
Physics of SE – computer science, mathematics, basic engineering principles, domain knowledge; all of this supported by
Practice – industrial apprenticeships, co-op programs; and
Police – professional associations, legislation certification and licensing bodies. 
A lot has changed in those three years. Software Engineering programs at both graduate and undergraduate levels are being opened everywhere. While the content of these programs may still be under development, there are a number of initiatives underway that will make a difference. The ACM/IEEE Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK), for example, is available at www.swebok.org. IEEE will offer Certified Software Engineering Professional examinations. A legal challenge issued by the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (CCPE) against the Memorial University of Newfoundland has been settled out of court with an understanding that a Software Engineering Panel is created to make the recommendations.  
There seems to be a genuine (forced?!) willingness to elevate Software Engineering to the engineering profession. Organizations like the Consortium for Software Engineering Research (CSER) here in Canada help in advancing the cause since the Consortium’s industrial members open their development environments to researchers and their students, exposing them to “real-world” issues. 
I think that the tide has turned – in the not so distant future we will know what it means when someone calls him/herself a “Software Engineer” and who will be able to teach future Software Engineers. I am looking forward to participating in and looking at the results of the Workshops, Symposia and papers presented in Toronto at ICSE 2001.

Anatol W. Kark