ISO/IEC TR 19759:2015

TECHNICAL ISO/IEC TR
REPORT 19759
Second edition
2015-10-01
Corrected version
2016-06-01
Software Engineering — Guide to
the Software Engineering Body of
Knowledge (SWEBOK)
Ingénierie du logiciel — Guide du corps de connaissance de
l’ingénierie du logiciel (SWEBOK)
Reference number
ISO/IEC TR 19759:2016(E)
©
ISO/IEC 2016
ISO/IEC TR 19759:2016(E)
© ISO/IEC 2016, Published in Switzerland
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ii © ISO/IEC 2016 – All rights reserved

ISO/IEC TR 19759:2016(E)
Contents Page
Foreword .iv

Introduction.v

1 Scope.1

2 Recommendations .1

3 Revision of the IEEE Computer Society Publication .1

4 Publication .1

© ISO/IEC 2016 – All rights reserved iii

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the
International Electrotechnical Commission) form the specialized system for
worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of ISO or IEC participate in
the development of International Standards through technical committees established by
the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC
technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also
take part in the work. In the field of information technology, ISO and IEC have established
a joint technical committee, ISO/IEC JTC 1.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further
maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different
approval criteria needed for the different types of document should be noted. This
document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the
ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be
the subject of patent rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or
all such patent rights. Details of any patent rights identified during the development of the
document will be in the Introduction and/or on the ISO list of patent
declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users
and does not constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to
conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the WTO
principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see the following URL: Foreword —
Supplementary information.
This corrected version of ISO/IEC TR 19759:2015 incorporates the following corrections:
- corrupted paragraphs of text within the document have been replaced.
ISO/IEC TR 19759 was prepared by the IEEE Computer Society and was adopted, under a
special “fast-track procedure”, by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1,
Information technology, in parallel with its approval by national bodies of ISO and IEC.
© ISO/IEC 2016 – All rights reserved iv

ISO/IEC TR 19759:2016(E)
Introduction
The purpose of the Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge is to provide a consensually validated
characterization of the bounds of the software engineering discipline and to provide a topical access to the Body of
Knowledge supporting that discipline. The Body of Knowledge is subdivided into fifteen software engineering
Knowledge Areas (KA) providing an outline of topics. The descriptions in the KAs are designed to discriminate
among the various important concepts, permitting readers to find their way quickly to subjects of interest. Upon
finding a subject, readers are referred to key papers or books selected because they succinctly present the
knowledge.
Publication of the 2004 version of this Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK
2004)—adopted as ISO/IEC TR 19759:2005—was a major milestone in establishing software engineering as
a recognized engineering discipline. The goal in developing this update to SWEBOK is to improve the
currency, readability, consistency, and usability of the Guide. All knowledge areas (KAs) have been updated
to reflect changes in software engineering since publication of SWEBOK 2004. Four new foundation KAs and
a Software Engineering Professional Practices KA have been added. The Software Engineering Tools and
Methods KA has been revised as Software Engineering Models and Methods. Software engineering tools is
now a topic in each of the KAs. Three appendices provide the specifications for the KA description, an
annotated set of relevant standards for each KA, and a listing of the references cited in the Guide.
An emphasis on engineering practice leads the Guide toward a strong relationship with the normative
literature. Most of the computer science, information technology and software engineering literature provides
information useful to software engineers, but a relatively small portion is normative. A normative document
prescribes what an engineer should do in a specified situation rather than providing information that might be
helpful. The normative literature is validated by consensus formed among practitioners and is concentrated in
standards and related documents. From the beginning, the SWEBOK project was conceived as having a
strong relationship to the normative literature of software engineering. The two major standards bodies for
software engineering (IEEE Computer Society Software and Systems Engineering Standards Committee and
ISO/IEC JTC1/SC7) cooperated in the project.
The Guide is oriented toward a variety of audiences, all over the world. It aims to serve public and private
organizations in need of a consistent view of software engineering for defining education and training
requirements, classifying jobs, developing performance evaluation policies or specifying software
development tasks. It also addresses practicing, or managing, software engineers and the officials responsible
for making public policy regarding licensing and professional guidelines. In addition, professional societies and
educators defining the certification rules, accreditation policies for university curricula, and guidelines for
professional practice will benefit from the SWEBOK Guide, as well as the students learning the software
engineering profession and educators and trainers engaged in defining curricula and course content.
v
© ISO/IEC 2016 – All rights reserved

TECHNICAL REPORT ISO/IEC TR 19759:2016(E)
Software Engineering — Guide to the Software Engineering
Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK) — Version 3.0
1 Scope
This Technical report characterizes the boundaries of the software engineering discipline and provides topical
access to the literature supporting that discipline.
2 Recommendations
As a Technical Report, this document does not make technical recommendations. The information provided is
that contained in the following publication (reproduced on the following pages), which is adopted as a
Technical Report:
Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK) V3.0, IEEE Computer Society
3 Revision of the IEEE Computer Society Publication
It has been agreed with the IEEE Computer Society that ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 7 will be consulted in the event of
any revision or amendment of this IEEE Computer Society publication. Consultation will be accomplished by
the existing Category A liaison relationship between SC 7 and IEEE Computer Society.
4 Publication
The report of the IEEE Computer Society appears on the following pages.
© ISO/IEC 2016 – All rights reserved 1

ISO/IEC TR 19759:2016(E)
•
••
• • •
•
•
II
···)
Guide to the Software
Engineering Body of Knowledge
Editors
Pierre Bourque
Richard E. (Dick) Fairley
+.IEEE
IEEE�computer society
© ISO/IEC 2016 – All rights reserved

ISO/IEC TR 19759:2016(E)
Guide to the Software Engineering
Body of Knowledge
Version 3.0 ®
SWEBOK
A Project of the IEEE Computer Society
© ISO/IEC 2016 – All rights reserved

ISO/IEC TR 19759:2016(E)
Guide to the Software Engineering
Body of Knowledge
Version 3.0
Editors
Pierre Bourque, École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS)
Richard E. (Dick) Fairley, Software and Systems Engineering Associates (S2EA)
© ISO/IEC 2016 – All rights reserved

ISO/IEC TR 19759:2016(E)
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Paperback ISBN-10: 0-7695-5166-1
Paperback ISBN-13: 978-0-7695-5166-1
Digital copies of SWEBOK Guide V3.0 may be downloaded free of charge for personal and academic use via www.swebok.org.
IEEE Computer Society Staff for This Publication
Angela Burgess, Executive Director
Anne Marie Kelly, Associate Executive Director, Director of Governance
Evan M. Butterfield, Director of Products and Services
John Keppler, Senior Manager, Professional Education
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© ISO/IEC 2016 – All rights reserved

ISO/IEC TR 19759:2016(E)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword xvii
Foreword to the 2004 Edition xix
Editors xxi
Coeditors xxi
Contributing Editors xxi
Change Control Board xxi
Knowledge Area Editors xxiii
Knowledge Area Editors of Previous SWEBOK Versions xxv
Review Team xxvii
Acknowledgements xxix
Professional Activities Board, 2013 Membership xxix
Motions Regarding the Approval of SWEBOK Guide V3.0 xxx
Motions Regarding the Approval of SWEBOK Guide 2004 Version xxx
Introduction to the Guide xxxi
Chapter 1: Software Requirements 1-1
1. Software Requirements Fundamentals 1-1
1.1. Definition of a Software Requirement 1-1
1.2. Product and Process Requirements 1-2
1.3. Functional and Nonfunctional Requirements 1-3
1.4. Emergent Properties 1-3
1.5. Quantifiable Requirements 1-3
1.6. System Requirements and Software Requirements 1-3
2. Requirements Process 1-3
2.1. Process Models 1-4
2.2. Process Actors 1-4
2.3. Process Support and Management 1-4
2.4. Process Quality and Improvement 1-4
3. Requirements Elicitation 1-5
3.1. Requirements Sources 1-5
3.2. Elicitation Techniques 1-6
4. Requirements Analysis 1-7
4.1. Requirements Classification 1-7
4.2. Conceptual Modeling 1-8
4.3. Architectural Design and Requirements Allocation 1-9
4.4. Requirements Negotiation 1-9
4.5. Formal Analysis 1-10
5. Requirements Specification 1-10
5.1. System Definition Document 1-10
5.2. System Requirements Specification 1-10
5.3. Software Requirements Specification 1-11
6. Requirements Validation 1-11
6.1. Requirements Reviews 1-11
6.2. Prototyping 1-12
v
© ISO/IEC 2016 – All rights reserved

ISO/IEC TR 19759:2016(E)
vi SWEBOK® Guide V3.0
6.3. Model Validation  1-12
6.4. Acceptance Tests  1-12
7. Practical Considerations 1-12
7.1. Iterative Nature of the Requirements Process 1-13
7.2. Change Management 1-13
7.3. Requirements Attributes 1-13
7.4. Requirements Tracing 1-14
7.5. Measuring Requirements 1-14
8. Software Requirements Tools 1-14
Matrix of Topics vs. Reference Material 1-15
Chapter 2: Software Design 2-1
1. Software Design Fundamentals 2-2
1.1. General Design Concepts 2-2
1.2. Context of Software Design 2-2
1.3. Software Design Process 2-2
1.4. Software Design Principles 2-3
2. Key Issues in Software Design 2-3
2.1. Concurrency 2-4
2.2. Control and Handling of Event
...