Research priorities in the area of software technologies

Abstract

Ever more products, services, and entire industries, existing ones as well as new, are running on software. This report, based on studies surveying the evolution of technology as well as journal articles, conference papers, and talks covering the future of software engineering, argues that significant investment in software engineering research can help Europe stay on top and even lead a world that is increasingly defined and shaped by software. The need for targeted research in software engineering is prompted by developments in three broad areas. First, the computing landscape is changing from top to bottom. Second, seven software-driven vertical application domains are reshaping entire industries and society as a whole. These domains are autonomous vehicles, massive open online courses, open intellectual property, the Internet of Things, life sciences, 3D printing, financial technology, and Industry 4.0. Third, the computing landscape’s technological trends and the changes in the vertical application domains, give rise to several critical crosscutting software engineering challenges. Software engineering research in the areas of software construction, software design, and software engineering process must be funded as a specific priority, so that it can act as a foundation for the robust evolution of computing and its applications. The findings of such research increase the IT industry’s efficiency and benefit society through more and higher quality software. Europe can build on its world-class pockets of excellence in specific areas of economic activity, such as automotive manufacturing, engineering, aerospace technology, financial services, and luxury goods marketing. Thus, focused, significant, and effective research funding in the area of software engineering can help the development of new methods, tools, architectures, systems, business models, processes, and applications that can be instrumental in the establishment of Europe as a center for the rise of a software-run economy.