

Why Software Engineering Isn’t Engineering - daviducolo
http://blog.iancackett.com/2015/06/07/software-engineering/

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LoSboccacc
* but it should be

instead of arguing to stop custom solution and start building software and
infrastructure as interchangeable parts, the article jumps to the very
opposite conclusion

meanwhile, software as engineering actually exists and fly planes and bring
spaceships to mun and beyond

the sad truth is that the customer often wants an engineered system but
pretends it from college students paid in food stamps - well, you get what you
pay for. 

imho the first company that comes with an ikea model to the world of software
- rugged, good enough, cheap - will dominate the next half century. 

we're, at best, artisans and craftsman of software, but lets not pretend
that's the trend.  race to bottom will drive toward the win of mass
engineering; we are actually already looking at this trend like now, where it
is more and more reasonable to build an application out of existing services
than rolling your own. 

Just a decade ago would have been impossible in a year to bring about the same
amount of feature today you can get for 9.99 off the shelf with the likes of
intercom, keen.io, reveal.js, chargebee etc. 

Software engineering is unfit for custom software development; that I concede;
but it is just bound to happen as economy to scales drive do-or-buy decision
toward microservices. 

~~~
MichaelCrawford
It's quite common for other kinds of engineers to design custom solutions.  For
example I have seen with my own eyes, motorized stripper pastie tassels.  They
were designed by an engineering firm. 

My gripe about software engineering is that anyone may call themselves a
software engineer, even if they have no clue about engineering. 

In the US, Civil Engineers require a Professional Engineer's license because
an incompetently designed gas pipe took the lives of three hundred when it
exploded. 

In Canada, one must be a Professional Engineer to claim you are an engineer of
any sort.  Just having a computer science degree does not count, you need a
software engineering degree and that is quite a different thing. 

The Ontario Society of Engineers always wins its lawsuits against MCSEs and
the "schools" that "train" them. 

This because a truss bridge collapsed over a river in Quebec, taking the lives
of one thousand construction workers. 

~~~
iancackett
Great comment, thanks.  I agree on the difference between a Computer Science
degree and a Software engineering degree.  I have the former (Comp Sci), and
that's the premise for my article.  Many folks were never taught the strict
definition of "engineering", and believe that's what they do as software devs. 
I _know_ that's not what I do. 

~~~
MichaelCrawford
I'm mostly OK with CS majors calling themselves Software Engineers.  There are
many applications for which that's appropriate. 

My real gripe is with the "Software Engineers" who hung out their shingle
after reading books like "Learn Java in 21 Days". 

------
sieisteinmodel
From Wikipedia:

> Engineering is the application of scientific, economic, social, and
> practical knowledge in order to invent, design, build, maintain, research,
> and improve structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes. 

The author should probably revise his definition of engineering.