Software systems engineering: the case of a new discipline

One of the hallmarks of the modern world is the creation of complex systems. The discipline of systems engineering is often utilised in this activity and, as many of these systems are also software-intensive, the discipline of software engineering becomes one of the critical technologies that must be utilised. In these cases, both disciplines address the same subject, the creation of complex software-intensive systems, albeit from different perspectives. This paper examines the current state of each discipline, analyses and compares each along several dimensions, and concludes by presenting the case for a new discipline, software systems engineering, which combines the essential elements of both disciplines