Efficient and expert software has become a factor for success in industry as well as society itself. For this reason measurable control over and a continual design of software engineering are advisable. With this in mind FORSOFT II has been concentrated on the core competencies of software technology in prominent working fields from the perspective of business concerns. The following principles are central to the project:

These themes are reflected in the research cooperations individual projects. There the central questions about software engineering are worked on with closer contact to industrial enterprises. From this work comes the fundamental results from FORSOFT. Coordinated with the goals further scientific results are compiled and a suitable solution worked out. These insights stemming from the tasks of the individual projects are then combined and processed scientifically.

The adaptation of the guiding principles requires new scientific results in classifying five internal pillars of software engineering:

  1. Descriptive methods and system model
  2. Procedural model
  3. Management of software development
  4. Architecture
  5. as well as tools
These results are secured through work spanning the individual projects in these internal pillars, which independent of the individual tinted requirements of industry partners are oriented on the guiding principles. Conversely while working on the individual projects it's important to make sure that software technology will not be seen as isolated from the task at hand. The combination of software technology with the application domain offers a special potential for innovation.

With research grants and strengthened industry help the cooperative will reach a critical mass, so that universal, fundamental questions on software engineering can be approached with a higher practical relevance. The high percent of FORSOFT II's financing from industry requires and justifies the creation of targeted solutions in individual cases (especially with KMUs), which are directly available to industry partners. Indeed the project fields are chosen with the intention that generalization and scientific editing should always be rendered.

FORSOFT II is therefore intentionally implemented with close cooperation with industry partners. In this process attention is paid that the insights gained aren't just for the benefit of industry partners, but are universalized by FORSOFT II to be used as a scientific and methodic contribution by the general public. By these means it can be assured that the means of the research grant can be used as requested/ordered. Special effort is also paid that small and middle sizes companies are contributed to. A further prominent goal is the compiling of scientific and technical competencies as a basis for the founding of spin off companies to strengthen the technological standing of Bavaria.
 

Sebastian Kress, 10.01.2001