1. Science & SWE Differences and Similarities
Amardeo Sarma

2. Basic Assumptions of Science
Realism: The world exists independent of our existence and perceptions
Naturalism: There exist natural causes for all phenomena
Skepticism: Our theories and assumptions are revisable in the light of new evidence – no final truths

3. Basic Assumptions of Science
Universalism: Scientific theories are or should be independent of culture
Testability: Scientific theories must be testable by evidence and must have consistently passed tests
Falsifiability: There must be some way to show a theory is wrong

4. Illustration: Anti-Science
Supernaturalism: Supernatural causes for phenomena
Postmodernism: Truth is relative
Traditionalism: Truth depends on the length of belief in something
Constructivism (as a philosophy): Theories are just constructions of the mind

5. Procedure Invent a hypothesis with good mathematics
Empirists: Induction
Rationalists: Just think
Test the hypothesis based on observations of the real world (experience)
Falsification more severe than verification
After long successful testing the hypothesis becomes a tested theory
A theory can be killed by new evidence

6. Software Engineering Assumptions
All assumptions of science and scientific theories are valid
Engineerability: A partial world can be developed (constructed) according to our desires
Specifiability: Our desires can be formulated as a formal specification

7. Software Engineering Assumptions
Implementability: A specification should lead to an implementation
Conformance: An implementation should work according to the specification

8. Procedure (for good software engineering)
Invent and agree on a Specification with good formalisms
Create an implementation based on the specification
Test the implementation based on observations of the partial real world (testing)
Verification more important than falsification
After long successful testing the implementation becomes a product
A product can be killed if it doent work

9. Comparison The procedure is very similar
Correspondence between hypothesis or specification with the (SWE: constructed) real world is called for
In science what is (the real world) is important
In software engineering what we want is important

10. Constructivism doesn‘t work for SW engineering either
Imagine:
A car that just works for Europeans
A compiler that creates different code for women
A coffee machine delivers coffee if you use a German coin for a Swiss machine because you think it is a Swiss coin