Software engineering is gravely hampered by immature practices. Specific problems include: The prevalence of fads more typical of the fashion industry than an engineering discipline; a huge number of methods and method variants, with differences little understood and artificially magnified; the lack of credible experimental evaluation and validation; and the split between industry practice and academic research.

At the root of the problems we lack a sound, widely accepted theoretical basis.  A prime example of such a basis is Maxwell’s equations in electrical engineering. It is difficult to fathom what electrical engineering would be today without those four concise equations. They are a great example to the statement “There is nothing so practical as a good theory”.  In software engineering we have nothing similar, and there is widespread doubt whether it is needed. This talk will argue for the need of a basic theory in software engineering, a theory identifying its pure essence, its common ground or its kernel.

The Semat (Software Engineering Methods and Theory) community addresses this huge challenge.  It supports a process to refound software engineering based on a kernel of widely-agreed elements, extensible for specific uses, addressing both technology and people issues. This kernel represents the essence of software engineering. 
 Reference: ASE 2012 Keynote, by Ivar Jacobson

Quote:
“I find that I am most happy and healthy when I am living in alignment with my goals, dreams, and principles.” 
Steve Maraboli

«We are some people who have observed software engineering theory and practice of the past decades and have realized that it is now time to revitalize this discipline. We have been quietly planning a “revolution”.
Since then I have advanced gradually. First, I explored this idea by publishing a paper, entitled “In need of a theory in software engineering”, first in China (in Chinese) and then in Australia. Later on I joined forces with two colleagues of mine, Bertrand Meyer, the creator of Eiffel, and Richard Solely, the chairman of OMG. We have formed a community called SEMAT (Software Engineering Method and Theory). Its goal is to make software engineering a more systematic discipline than it has been in the past.
This effort started with a Call for Action a few weeks ago. To put it in a sharply simplified way, we state: 1) software engineering is not a mature discipline, and 2) this situation has to be changed fundamentally ”based on a solid theory, proven principles and best practices that include a kernel of widely-agreed elements,” etc.
The big challenge of this initiative is to achieve consensus among so many strong and driving forces. SEMAT differs from other initiatives in that we are not trying to unify the world around a method, but rather, focusing on the creation of a small kernel that contains elements that we always have when we develop software. We call these kernel elements universals. Furthermore, we insist that industry and research communities should be harmonized. Both of them have their strengths and have their unique roles to play, but they need to work together as a team resulting in a synergy for us to be successful.»
Reference: Ivar Jacobson's Blog

گزيده:
تجربه نامي است كه همه ما بر اشتباهات خود مي‌گذاريم. اسكار وايلد 
مرجع: كتاب نكته‌هاي ناب اثر مرتضي اسد‌خواه