[lug] software engineering

[Zan Lynx]

On Thu, 2006-11-30 at 11:19 -0700, David Morris wrote:

> The concept you're striving for here is Systems Engineering,
> a field newer than even software engineering.  At least as
> an official engineering discipline, people have *done* it
> for quite some time with varying degrees of success.
> 
> In short, the traditional engineer is focused primarily on
> how something should be done, while a systems engineer
> focuses more on the question of why.

This description sounds like what I was taught as Systems Analysis.
There are plenty of Systems Analysts working in the computing field,
usually as consulting experts.

And of course, plenty of software engineers end up doing this sort of
unofficially.  When you see what you're being asked to do and you go
ask, "Why do you want a system designed to print out the reports here,
make copies in triplicate, send one copy for filing, one for the
archives, and one to a clerk who is going to re-enter it into a
different computer system?  This would be so much better if ..."
-- 
Zan Lynx <zlynx at acm.org>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 189 bytes
Desc: This is a digitally signed message part
URL: <http://lists.lug.boulder.co.us/pipermail/lug/attachments/20061130/f3370257/attachment.pgp>