Are software engineering “best practices” just developer preferences?
> How can Software Engineers call themselves engineers when there’s no rules, governing bodies, or anything to stipulate what true Software Engineering is?<p>We call ourselves software developers in Canada.<p>According to Canadian engineering[1]:
The "practice of engineering" means any act of planning, designing, composing, evaluating, advising, reporting, directing or supervising, or managing any of the foregoing, that requires the application of engineering principles, and that concerns the safeguarding of life, health, property, economic interests, the public welfare, or the environment.<p>To be considered a work of engineering, then, that a piece of software (or a software-intensive system) must meet two conditions:<p>1. The development of the software has required “the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software.”<p>2. There is a reasonable expectation that failure or inappropriate functioning of the system would result in harm to life, health, property, economic interests, the public welfare, or the environment<p>[1] - <a href="https://engineerscanada.ca/news-and-events/news/when-software-becomes-a-work-of-engineering" rel="nofollow">https://engineerscanada.ca/news-and-events/news/when-softwar...</a>