Making software engineering happen reminds me of the Managers Guide series of books published by John Wiley & Sons in the late 1960s. This excellent series of introductory volumes dealt with the way managers needed to approach several of the then-new technological tools that businesses were using in their operations. Pressman provides the same kind of information for today’s newly designated area of software engineering. He supplies the reader with the basic information necessary to understand what software engineering is about and a useful methodology for implementing the concepts and tools of this discipline.

Software engineering is essentially an approach for an organization to use in the development of software for its information processing activities. It involves the use of tools designed to increase the efficiency of the development process. In many instances, such tools give systems analysts, designers, and programmers the same kind of computer assistance that these people have provided to others.

This book is a short course for managers, especially those in information systems development, on implementing the new systems development technologies. Pressman notes that the tools themselves are not a panacea but require that users and nontechnical management be educated to some degree about the potential advantages of their implementation. He further notes that in order to get the optimum effect, the system development manager must be selective in their use to ensure that only the proper tools are applied.

Like Gaul, the book is divided into three parts. The first part is a two-chapter introduction. The seven chapters that follow outline a methodology for implementing software engineering techniques. The last part is a set of appendices that provide useful tools and other information that can assist the manager in “making software engineering happen,” including a bibliography that will be useful for further exploration in the field. Throughout the text, Pressman includes references to the use of CASE tools, which are becoming more popular and should continue to do so as the price of the software decreases.

As a short ‘manager’s guide,’ the text does not contain specifics about the various software engineering tools. Including such material would require significantly more space, and information on particular tools is more readily available elsewhere in the detail necessary for initial evaluation of the specific tool.

This book is an excellent introduction to the tools and methods necessary to ease the introduction of software engineering into any systems development organization. I recommend it to the neophyte developer as well as to the experienced analyst, designer, or development manager who has not yet been introduced to these concepts and tools.