Saturday, June 16, 2012

Software Engineers: Their Roles In Organizations

By Tom Doerr


Software engineers specialize in designing and developing software applications. They are mainly trained in mathematics and computer science. The knowledge and skills gained from this training is necessary in the design, construction and deployment of these applications.

Some of the applications designed for use include network control systems, business applications, computer games and middleware. Besides having adequate knowledge in computing systems theory, they also need to be knowledgeable about computer hardware.

To develop an application, the specific need of the end user has be identified and analyzed. The design should be designed to address the specific need. Applications are basically sets of instructions to a computer. They are also known as algorithms. On paper, they may be represented as flow charts, diagrams or other illustration. Before deployment, the applications have to be converted to computer language. This is known as programming or coding.

There are two categories of these experts. The first category is that of applications engineers. These look at applications from the perspective of the end user. They identify the specific needs and then design and construct applications to meet them. They are also involved in the maintenance of these applications. The end user is presented with a packaged computer application or they may request that the application be customized based on the requirements of their business or organization.

The second category is that of systems engineers. Their roles include coordinating the construction, maintenance and expansion of computer systems in an organization. They ensure that systems run in synchrony in each department. This would include, for example, registration, billing, record keeping and so on. They usually look at efficiency of these systems and make recommendation on possible improvements. In some organizations they set up intranet networks to ease communication. Another important role is the setting up of data security and assurance systems.

Computer programmers are different from software engineers but the two groups are often confused with each other. Whereas the latter are central to the design process, th




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