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Software Engineering

Unit - 9
Software Engineering &
Software as a Service
 Outlines
 Software as a Service
• SaaS Architecture
 Product Lifetime
• Independent Product Vs. Continues Improvement

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 Software as a Service
 SaaS (Software as a Service) describes any cloud service where
consumers are able to access software applications over the
internet
• Google, Twitter and Facebook are all examples of SaaS, with
users able to access the services via any internet enabled device
• Enterprise users are able to use applications for a range of needs,
including accounting and invoicing, tracking sales, planning,
performance monitoring and communications
 SaaS is often referred to as software-on-demand and utilizing it as
renting software rather than buying it
 With traditional software applications you would purchase the
software upfront as a package and then install it onto your
computer

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 Software as a Service cont.
 The software’s license may also limit the number of users and/or
devices where the software can be deployed
 Software as a Service users, however, subscribe to the software
rather than purchase it, usually on a monthly basis
 Applications are purchased and used online with files (data files)
saved in the cloud rather than on individual computers

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 Software as a Service Cont.
Benefits of SaaS to organizations and personal users

No additional hardware costs Updates are automated

No initial setup costs Accessible from any location

Pay for what you use Cross device compatibility

Usage is scalable Applications can be customized

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 Software as a Service Cont.
 Office software is the best example of businesses utilizing SaaS
 Tasks related to accounting, invoicing, sales and planning can all
be performed through Software as a Service.
 The required software can be subscribed via the internet and then
accessed online via any computer in the office using a username
and password.
 If needs change they can easily switch to software that better
meets their requirements.
 Everyone who needs access to a particular piece of software can
be set up as a user
 whether it is one or two people or every employee in a
corporation.

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 SaaS Summary
 There are no setup costs with SaaS, as there often are with other
applications
 SaaS is scalable with upgrades available on demand
 Access to Software as a Service is compatible across all internet
enabled devices
 As long as there is an internet connection, applications are
accessible from any location

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 SaaS Architecture
Traditional Software Delivery Model

SaaS Model

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 SaaS Architecture (Cont…)
 The diagram illustrates the key differences between the
traditional software delivery model and a SaaS-based delivery
model
• In essence, all users of SaaS-based applications run exactly the
same code with customizations and configurations stored as
metadata parameters
 The key difference between SaaS and traditional software
delivery is that SaaS-based applications are fully hosted within
some form of Data Centre environment
• All updates to the SaaS application are carried out within the Data
Centre and therefore the user can always be assured that they
are using the most recent version of the application
• These applications are designed to work and take advantage of
operating within a web browser-based environment

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 SaaS Architecture (Cont…)
 Since nearly every computer comes with a browser as part of the
operating environment, there is hardly any implementation work
required by a company’s IT department
 This allows the IT department to focus on other activities reducing
support costs
 SaaS is traditionally sold on a subscription basis that includes
upgrades, maintenance and some level of basic support
 These subscriptions operate on a monthly, quarterly or yearly
basis
 SaaS is ideal for companies who would be using the application
periodically

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 Product Lifetime
 In order to understand the engineering process for the software,
it is essential to contrast software and hardware engineering with
respect to product lifetime.
 The concept product life time concerns the life of product in the
market with respect to business or commercial cost and sales
measures
 The time period of product life and the length of each stage
varies from product to product
• Lifetime of one product can be over in few months and of
another product may last for many years

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 Product Lifetime (Cont…)
 There are three assumptions made for product lifetime
1. Products have a limited life and thus every product has a life
cycle
2. Product sales pass through distinct stages, each posing different
challenges, opportunities and problems to the seller
3. Products require different marketing, financing, manufacturing,
purchasing and human resource strategies throughout its
lifetime
 Product lifetime is an important factor for the difference between
hardware and software
 There are two important approaches for product lifetime
1. Independent Product
2. Continuous Improvement

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 Independent Product Vs. Continues Improvement
 Hardware design must be created and implemented completely
before they get deployed at the working environment
 On the other hand, software is expected to grow and evolve over
time
 The cost for upgrade of hardware is very expensive while
software upgrade is normally affordable
 Hence, software is getting improved at each new release or
version while hardware decay (waste) into obsolescence (unused)
 As hardware product is not getting better over the time, customer
expects it to be completely bug free and independent product
when it is launched

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 Independent Product Vs. Continues Improvement Cont.
 If it is not working properly,
• then customer thinks it faulty and returns the product
immediately and the manufacturing company has to bear the
loss
 On the other hand, even if there are some problems in the
software during installation,
• customer install the latest versions or updates thinking that one
day or other the problem will get resolved
 The main reason behind it is the continuous improvement in
software development
• There is a tendency of using improved versions of the software
over its lifetime
• In fact long product life of software means maintenance and
enhancement of the software continuously

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 Independent Product Vs. Continues Improvement
 Thus the successful software can live decades and is expected to
evolve and improve continuously
 While the computer hardware is finalized at the time of
manufacturing and can be considered obsolete within just few
years

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 Continuous Improvement Tasks
The continuous improvement tasks are

Review product, processes and practices periodically

Conduct frequent retrospectives (looking back in the past) and experiments to

Gather feedback from stakeholders

Develop a team of specialists by providing learning opportunities

Perform analysis on existing processes to remove wastes and improve efficiency

Disseminate (expand) knowledge gained during project works to the whole

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 Summary
 Software as a Service
• SaaS Architecture
 Product Lifetime
 Independent Product Vs. Continues Improvement
 Continuous Improvement Tasks

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