CH 2

Chapter 2 – Software Processes
Chapter 2 Software Processes 1

Topics covered
 Software process models

 Process activities

The software process

Software process descriptions
 When we describe and discuss processes, we usually

talk about the activities in these processes such as
specifying a data model, designing a user interface, etc.
and the ordering of these activities.
 Process descriptions may also include:
 Products, which are the outcomes of a process activity;
 Roles, which reflect the responsibilities of the people involved in
the process;
 Pre- and post-conditions, which are statements that are true
before and after a process activity has been enacted or a
product produced.

Plan-driven and agile processes
 Plan-driven processes are processes where all of the

process activities are planned in advance and progress
is measured against this plan.
 In agile processes, planning is incremental and it is
easier to change the process to reflect changing
customer requirements.
 In practice, most practical processes include elements of
both plan-driven and agile approaches.
 There are no right or wrong software processes.

Software process models

The waterfall model

Waterfall model phases

Incremental development

Incremental development benefits

Incremental development problems
 The process is not visible.

 Managers need regular deliverables to measure progress. If
systems are developed quickly, it is not cost-effective to produce
documents that reflect every version of the system.
 System structure tends to degrade as new increments
are added.
 Unless time and money is spent on refactoring to improve the
software, regular change tends to corrupt its structure.
Incorporating further software changes becomes increasingly
difficult and costly.

Reuse-oriented software engineering

Reuse-oriented software engineering

Process activities
 Real software processes are inter-leaved sequences of

technical, collaborative and managerial activities with the
overall goal of specifying, designing, implementing and
testing a software system.
 The four basic process activities of specification,
development, validation and evolution are organized
differently in different development processes. In the
waterfall model, they are organized in sequence,
whereas in incremental development they are inter-
leaved.

Software specification
 The process of establishing what services are required

and the constraints on the system’s operation and
development.
 Requirements engineering process
 Feasibility study
• Is it technically and financially feasible to build the system?
 Requirements analysis
• What do the system stakeholders require or expect from the system?
 Requirements specification
• Defining the requirements in detail
 Requirements validation
• Checking the validity of the requirements

Software design and implementation

Design activities
 Architectural design: identify the overall structure of the

system and the principal components.
 Interface design: define the interfaces between system
components.
 Component design: design each system component and
how it will operate.
 Database design: design the system data structures and
how these are to be represented in a database.

Software validation and testing

Software evolution

Key points
 Software processes are the activities involved in

producing a software system. Software process models
are abstract representations of these processes.
 General process models describe the organization of
software processes. Examples of these general models
include the ‘waterfall’ model, incremental development,
and reuse-oriented development.

Key points
 Requirements engineering is the process of developing a

software specification.
 Design and implementation processes are concerned
with transforming a requirements specification into an
executable software system.
 Software validation is the process of checking that the
system conforms to its specification and that it meets the
real needs of the users of the system.
 Software evolution takes place when you change
existing software systems to meet new requirements.
The software must evolve to remain useful.

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Chapter 2 – Software Processes

Chapter 2 Software Processes 1

 Software process models

Chapter 2 Software Processes 2

Chapter 2 Software Processes 3

 When we describe and discuss processes, we usually

Chapter 2 Software Processes 4

 Plan-driven processes are processes where all of the

Chapter 2 Software Processes 5

Chapter 2 Software Processes 6

Chapter 2 Software Processes 7

Chapter 2 Software Processes 8

Chapter 2 Software Processes 9

Chapter 2 Software Processes 10

 The process is not visible.

Chapter 2 Software Processes 11

Chapter 2 Software Processes 12

Chapter 2 Software Processes 13

 Real software processes are inter-leaved sequences of

Chapter 2 Software Processes 14

 The process of establishing what services are required

Chapter 2 Software Processes 15

Chapter 2 Software Processes 16

 Architectural design: identify the overall structure of the

Chapter 2 Software Processes 17

Chapter 2 Software Processes 18

Chapter 2 Software Processes 19

 Software processes are the activities involved in

Chapter 2 Software Processes 20

 Requirements engineering is the process of developing a

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