1. Software Construction
SWEBOK Chapter 4
Software Construction

2. Fundamentals Minimizing Complexity Anticipating Change
Construction for Verification
Standards in Construction

3. Minimizing Complexity
One of the strongest drivers in software construction
Required due to human limitations of memory

4. Minimizing Complexity
How is complexity minimized during software construction? Use of standards Coding practices Construction-oriented quality techniques Creation of code that is simple and readable rather than clever

5. Anticipate Change Software will change
Coding techniques can be used to make change easier (designing for change is also critical)
Give potential causes for change

6. Construction for Verification
Built is such a way to allow easy identification of defects
By developers during construction
By testers
Identification by developers and individual testing

7. Construction for Verification
Techniques
Following coding standards
Unit testing
Organizing code to support automated testing
Restricted use of complex/hard-to-understand language structures

8. Standards in Construction
Communication methods
Programming languages
Platforms
Tools
External standards
Internal standards
Communication methods: document formats CSV or XML, SOAP web services or HTTP POST
Tools: UML modeling External standards: hardware and software interface specifications from the OMG or IEEE
Internal standards: organizational

9. Managing Construction
Construction Models
Construction Planning
Construction Measurement

10. Construction Models Linear construction view Interative
Construction only after significant pre-requisite work is complete
Coding is main focus of construction
Interative
Construction occurs at the same time as other development activities
Combination of activities all considered construction

11. Construction Planning
How are we going to build it?
Affects prerequisite activities
Extent to which they are performed
Order in which they are performed
Degree to which they are expected to be complete before construction begins
Affects project’s ability to minimize complexity, anticipate change, and construct for verification
Defines the order in which components are created and integrated, QA management process, allocation of task assignments, etc.

12. Construction Measurement
What aspects are being measured?
Code developed (LOC)
Code reused
Code modified
Code complexity
Code inspection statistics
Defects found
Defects fixed
Effort
Scheduling
Story points (velocity)
Why do we need to measure construction?

13. Practical Considerations
Construction Design
Construction Languages
Coding
Construction Testing
Reuse
Construction Quality
Integration

14. Construction Design Design done before construction will be incomplete
Detailed design same as overall design but at a smaller scale
Haven’t we already talked about design?

15. Construction Languages
Anyway that a human can specify execution instructions to a computer
Configuration Languages
Toolkit Languages
Programming Languages
Configuration Languages are languages in which software engineers choose from a limited set of predefined options to create new or custom software installations. The text-based configuration files used in both the Windows and Unix operating systems are examples of this, and the menu style selection lists of some program generators constitute another.
Toolkit languages are used to build applications out of toolkits (integrated sets of application-specific reusable parts), and are more complex than configuration languages. Toolkit languages may be explicitly defined as application programming languages (for example, scripts), or may simply be implied by the set of interfaces of a toolkit.
Programming languages are the most flexible type of construction languages. They also contain the least amount of information about specific application areas and development processes, and so require the most training
and skill to use effectively.

16. Coding Understandable source code
Use of classes, enumerated types, variables, named constants, etc
Control structures
Error handling
Prevention of code-level security breaches
Resource usage
Source code organization
Code documentation
Code tuning

17. Construction Testing
Goal: to reduce the time between defect creation and default detection
Subset of overall testing types performed by the engineer who wrote the code
Unit testing
Integration testing

18. Reuse
Reuse processes and activities must be formalized into the software life cycle
Selection of what to reuse
Evaluation of code or test reusability
Reporting of reuse information on new code

19. Construction Quality Common Techniques
Unit and integration testing
Test-first development
Code stepping
Use of assertions
Debugging
Technical reviews
Static analysis
Focus on code and not overall project

20. Integration Plan the sequence in which components will be integrated
Creation of scaffolding and stubs to support interim versions
Determining the degree of testing done on components before they are integrated
Determine when interim versions of the software are tested