Beyond computer science

Computer science is necessary but not sufficient to understand and overcome the problems we face in software engineering. We need to understand not only the properties of the software itself, but also the limitations and competences humans bring to the engineering task. Rather than rely on commonsense notions, we need a deep and nuanced view of human capabilities in order to determine how to enhance them. The author discusses what he regards as promising examples of cognitive and organizational theories and proposes research directions to develop new ways of representing run-time behavior and ways of thinking about project coordination. He concludes with observations on creating an interdisciplinary culture.

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