Is Software Engineering Fun? Part 2

The article examines \´software fun\´ from the viewpoint of the role of methodologies in software history. Historically, (1950s), programming was a small-scale, problem-solving activity. There were few firm requirements. Programmers worked with prototypes and used them to extend their knowledge as they created new products. In doing this, they maximized fun. The author concludes that the software process optimization approaches of the past had their place, and perhaps they still do. The methodologized approaches that today\´s gurus favor also had, and continue to have, their place. But there\´s a huge gap between "when tasks are small..." and "only valid for firm and stable requirements." The answer is a structured, object-oriented, knowledge-based prototyping paradigm based on formal specifications and proofs of correctness that combines the main features of composition and decomposition in a CASE environment using methodology-independent methods and visual programming in Ada