A Future for Software Engineering?

ABSTRACT

This paper suggests the need for a software engineering research community conversation about the future that the community would like to have. The paper observes that the research directions the community has taken in the past, dating at least back to the formative NATO Conferences in the late 1960's, have been driven largely by desire to meet the needs of practice. The paper suggests that the community should discuss whether it is now appropriate to balance this problem-solving-oriented research with a stronger complement of curiosity-driven research. This paper does not advocate what that balance should be. Neither does it advocate what curiosity driven research topics should be pursued (although illustrative examples are oflered). It does does advocate the need for a community conversation about these questions.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.0 General

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.m Miscellaneous

  K. Computing Milieux
  K.6 MANAGEMENT OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
      K.6.0 General

General Terms:
Theory