Software vs. “Traditional” Engineering: A Persistent Misunderstanding
Throughout his career, Martin Fowler—an electronic engineering graduate—has heard software development compared unfavorably to “traditional” engineering, often as a scolding. However, he argues this critique is built on a flawed premise: most people misunderstand how engineering actually operates in practice.
Fowler points to Glenn Vanderburg, who has extensively researched these misconceptions. He strongly recommends Vanderburg’s talk, Real Software Engineering, as well as his interview on the Oddly Influenced podcast. Fowler notes that he has been unable to convince Vanderburg to write the material down, despite it being worthy of a full article.
Another useful perspective comes from Hillel Wayne, who interviewed professionals who worked in both traditional engineering and software. Wayne documented his findings in a series of essays, beginning with Are We Really Engineers?.
