Erinnern Sie sich noch, als Neil Amstrong 1969 als erster Mensch seinen Fuß auf den Mond setzte? Das war eine technische Meisterleistung. Ein Jahr früher hielt die NATO 1968 eine Konferenz (mit über 50 Teilnehmern) über Software-Engineering in Garmisch-Patenkirchen ab. Der Text wurde im Jahr 2001 eingescannt und nachbearbeitet (nach bestem Wissen und Gewissen).

Hier sind die Highlights:

The present report is concerned with a problem crucial to the use of computers, viz. the so-called software,

or pro-grams, developed to control their action. The report summarises the discussions at a Working Conference on Software Engineering, sponsored by the NATO Science Committee. The Conference was attended by more than fifty people, from eleven different countries, all concerned professionally with software, either as users, manufacturers, or teachers at universities. The discussions cover all aspects of software including

•relation of software to the hardware of computers
•design of software
•production, or implementation of software
•distribution of software
•service on software.

By including many direct quotations and exchanges of opinion, the report reflects the lively controversies of the original discussion.

Although much of the discussions were of a detailed technical nature, the report also contains sections reporting on discussions which will be of interest to a much wider audience. This holds for subjects like

•the problems of achieving sufficient reliability in the data systems which are becoming increasingly integrated into the central activities of modern society
•the difficulties of meeting schedules and specifications on large software projects
•the education of software (or data systems) engineers
•the highly controversial question of whether software should be priced separately from hardware.

Thus, while the report is of particular concern to the immediate users of computers and to computer manufacturers, many points may serve to enlighten and warn policy makers at all levels. Readers from the wider audience should note, however, that the conference was concentrating on the basic issues and key problems in the critical areas of software engineering. It therefore did not attempt to provide a balanced review of the total state of software, and tends to understress the achievements of the field.

Wer möchte kann den Bericht hier nachlesen (PDF, 2.4 MB): http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/NATO/nato1968.PDF