Some reflections on software engineering research
Alfonso Fuggetta · ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes · 1999
The May and July issues of ACM Software Engineering Notes include three stimulating and thought-provoking papers, two by David Lorge Parnas and one by David Notkin. The papers discuss the nature of software engineering research and identify problems and issues that the community is facing. After reading them, I felt compelled to assess the research I have been doing during the past years. These notes are just an attempt to organize and structure in a written form the impressions and concerns that I have derived from this reflection. I hope they can be useful to continue and deepen the discussion on the subject.To anticipate some possible negative reactions to these notes, I admit up front that my comments might appear biased, harsh, and perhaps too pessimistic. Please consider them first and foremost as a sincere critique of myself. I do believe that the only way to solve problems is to address them without any fear or ambiguity. Ignoring or avoiding problems would just mean that we do not have the ability or the courage to solve them.