The Role of the Software Engineer in the System Design Process

There presently exists a large and growing body of embedded computer systems, computers that perform some controlling function in a larger system such as a communications system. These embedded systems are often developed by project teams that do not contain the expertise of the software engineer in the beginning phases. This approach was appropriate when the technical nature of the embedded system development had a relatively small software component. Now, however, the availability of cheap, powerful, general-purpose microprocessors has moved software into a more critical role in the system design process. As a result, the engineering that used to be conducted in a hardware design atmosphere is now being conducted in a software design and programming environment and the skills and experience of the software engineer are needed in the beginning phases of the design process. This paper discusses some of the differences between software engineering and other branches of engineering, presents an approach for integrating software and firmware into the overall system design process and suggests possible risk reduction measures to use during the development process.