Software and systems engineers draw their skills and techniques from multiple disciplines that are interconnected. Individuals in both fields often have a background in physical sciences and computer technology. The differences between systems and software engineers are often based on the roles performed by individuals in these fields, educational background, and experience.
A software engineer and a systems engineer are different because they perform different roles and possess different skills. A software engineer creates and maintains computer programs. A systems engineer defines and arranges the relationships between objects in order to optimize desired values.
The lines marking the differences between the roles performed by software and systems engineers can be blurred in certain jobs where either the software or systems engineers are required to perform jobs with interconnected roles.
What a Systems Engineer Is
Systems engineers are individuals involved in the overall management of engineering projects and focus on the integration of the different systems or physical aspects of the engineering projects. System engineers are likely to be responsible for the engineering processes, business, and management aspects related to an engineering project.
Generally, systems engineers focus on making sure all the parts of the system work well.
System engineering can also be perceived as the link between all the processes, designs, technical skills, and product-development aspect of a project. As such, systems engineers work in a methodological aspect to manage the technical aspects and operations of an organization.
What a Software Engineer Is
Software engineers deal with designing and developing software programs, applications, or products. Software engineers can be engaged in projects that involve developing software programs that would be integrated into a system to promote the effective functioning of the system, reduce dependence on certain hardware structures in the system, and promote the performance of the system.
In an engineering project, software engineering can be a subsystem of system engineering.
Education and Qualifications for Software vs Systems Engineer
Software Engineer
Software engineers are usually required to have a minimum requirement of a bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, or other related fields. Most of the candidates and individuals working as software engineers often have a background in one or more programming language like C#, C++, Java, Scala, Python, Elm, Ruby, and Swift.
Employers looking for candidates with a background in software engineering often state the specific programming language that candidates interested in the position should understand.
Generally, software engineers require a background in computer science and computer engineering courses. Software engineers are also required to have broad information systems experience.
Systems Engineer
Individuals interested in systems engineering should have a minimum educational requirement of a bachelor’s degree in computer science, electrical engineering, computer engineering or other educational backgrounds in related fields. System engineers are also required to have an understanding of existing programing languages that align with their roles.
Unlike software engineers who might require specific skills to develop certain programs, systems engineers require a broad understanding of mathematical sciences concepts, basic computer science, and engineering.
The key difference between the educational requirements of systems and software engineers include the need for soft skills among system engineers. System engineers are often engaged in communication with individuals working in different departments or aspects of a project.
Possession of soft skills like effective listening, teamwork, problem-solving, decision-making, organization, and stress management ensures that system managers can work collaboratively with others.
Unlike in software-related jobs where employers often focus on programming languages and the candidates’ educational background, in system engineering employers focus on individuals’ ability to analyze and troubleshoot entire systems, collaborate with others, and oversee an entire project.
Education Overview
System engineers start with basic educational courses that deal with traditional engineering fields like electrical engineering or mechanical engineering. By the time they start taking up roles in system engineering they have accumulated a wide range of skills linked to different engineering and computer science fields.
On the other hand, software engineers often start their educational backgrounds in computer science, coding, and the development of software programs. They gain more information on computer science and programming in their fields and often stick to jobs that are directly associated with programming.
Differentiating Between the Two
Software Engineers
Generally, software engineers work with quality assurance engineers and hardware engineers in developing testing plans for software programs. They also participate in assessing software requirements for organizations.
Other roles performed by software engineers include defining formal coding methods in organizations, defining reuse software programs and tradeoffs that should be considered in organizations. Some software engineers participate in defining customer interface and determining coding methodologies, which can include Agile or Iterative methodologies.
Software engineers are generally concerned with developing all aspects of software and may be involved in the development of databases, applications, and infrastructure to support the program. Their work targets reduction of overall costs of a project through the incorporation of software programs that ease system processes, promote efficiency and speed of performing tasks and reduces bulk.
Methods linked to the work performed by software engineers include incremental verification and validation, continuous integration, use of agile methods, process improvement through restructuring of pre-developed codes and interfaces, and reliance on model-driven development.
A typical software engineering job would entail the following roles:
Improving systems: Software engineers are often required to improve existing systems by identifying issues and common patterns affecting the operations of a system. They might also be engaged in roles linked to developing standard operating procedures for an organization.
Identifying Opportunities for Improvement: Aside from identifying errors, they also engage in the strategic assessment of existing software programs to enhance their operations by identifying opportunities for improvement. Through this role, software engineers can make design recommendations to systems engineers or their supervisors.
Maintenance: Software engineers can also be involved in maintaining and improving existing codes and codebases to reduce risks of unauthorized access, hacking, system failure, or future errors.
Developing Technical Designs: Software engineers can work collaboratively with others within an organization to develop technical designs that support the vision of the organization.
Testing and Using New Technologies: Technological advances can promote the operations of an organization. Software engineers often work with quality assurance engineers in investigating the effectiveness of new technologies and their potential benefits to an organization. If the technologies support their system or organization, they also take part in introducing it to the organization and supporting its implementation.
Knowledge transfer: Software engineers provide written knowledge linked to their work and contributing to a system or organization through detailed reports. The reports help individuals working in other fields understand the contributions of software engineers.
Systems Engineers
Systems engineers in IT perform a wide range of roles. Their work involves building, maintaining, examining, and supporting technical infrastructure in organizations. They can perform the roles associated with software engineers if certain software programs are integrated into the systems.
The infrastructure developed by systems engineers can incorporate tests and production environments that deliver software programs as a service to interested consumers.
Systems engineers also perform high-level root cause analysis in cases where they experience service interruptions or errors in their systems. Other roles linked to systems engineers include design element-level functionality, define verification models for programs developed, perform system trade studies, and engage in system engineering management roles.
While software engineers focus on developing good software programs, system engineers focus on using existing software programs to improve the performance of their systems. They generally rely on software programs developed by software engineers to improve users experience and their domains.
Methods associated with the work performed by system engineers include stakeholder analysis, design tradeoffs, systematic verification and validation, assessment of organizations’ requirements in the engineering department, interface specification, and management of systems configuration.
System engineering also deals with team coordination and examination of work processes, which suggests that their roles are broader when compared to those performed by software engineers.
Additional roles performed by system engineers that set them aside from software engineers:
Operational concept development: This entails the preparation of documents for specific projects. The documents prepared often resemble business plans as they define the specific work that would be incorporated at every step. Important details such as the characteristics of the proposed system from the viewpoint of the users are also incorporated in the concept development stage.
System Integration: This phase entails bringing together the different concepts of subsystems to create one functional system. It also entails ensuring that all the subsystems function well together as a single system.
Testing Software programs: Systems engineers assess the functionality of software programs using approaches such as root cause analysis. Their engagement in software testing is often focused on analyzing the subsystem linked to the software. They can either perform static testing or dynamic testing.
Static testing entails checking the codes, required documents, and designs to ensure that they are suited for the system. Static testing is often performed with being executed. Dynamic testing involves checking the functional behavior of the identified software by examining its overall performance, memory, and central processing unit.
Dynamic testing is usually performed without executing the software to assess its functionality. Static design is performed during the verification stage while the dynamic testing is performed during the validation stage.
Quality analysis: Systems engineers perform quality analyses either independently or with the support of quality assurance engineers. Quality analyses processes for systems often entail engaging the entire software development process, monitoring and improving each process, and ensuring that all the standard procedures have been followed.
Any problem identified by the system engineers is communicated to the respective subsystem and fixed.
Risk management: Systems engineers perform risk management roles by identifying risks and resolving them, reducing the probability of risks by ensuring that each part of the system operates effectively, and monitor existing risks. Systems engineers often perform these roles in collaboration with subsystem managers or software engineers.
Roles Shared by Software and Systems Engineers
While systems and software engineers hold varying positions in the workplace, there are certain roles that can be performed by either systems engineers or software engineers. These roles include:
Identifying requirement needs: This entails identifying functional, performance, or quality-related requirements linked to an issue in an organization’s systems.
Software & systems engineers can perform general analyses to identify changes that need to be implemented in an organization’s systems.
Creating systems/software architectures: Systems engineers or software engineers can work independently in creating software or system architectures based on the needs of their clients. They can also work together in developing integrated systems that utilize concepts from their respective career backgrounds.
Perform systems versus software tradeoffs: Either systems or software engineers can conduct systems or software tradeoffs. These tradeoffs usually entail evaluating existing systems and determining potential software programs that can be incorporated in the systems in exchange for existing hardware.
System engineers can evaluate the system and determine a potential software that can be introduced to improve the performance of the system while software engineers are likely to come up with different software programs that would improve the performance of the system or organization.
Manage systems/software changes and risks: Software and system engineers can manage the changes and assess risks affecting software or system. The magnitude of the system or software change that needs to be implemented often determines whether a system or software engineer would be needed or whether the role can be performed by either of them.
Example of the Difference Between System and Software Engineers
In a project associated with the development of a self-driven vehicle, systems and software engineers are likely to work with teams that support their work. The team might involve individuals like electrical engineers, quality assurance engineers, mechanical engineers, and systems and software engineers.
Within the team, the system engineer would be responsible for overseeing the entire project and ensuring that each individual performs their roles effectively. The electrical engineer would work with the mechanical engineer in designing the physical structure of the vehicle and the software engineer would develop software programs to promote voice recognition, retrieval of directions from preinstalled systems, and similar features.
As such, while the entire team would be involved in the same project, the software and systems engineers would engage in different but similarly important roles. Systems engineers can be perceived as the project managers of a group.
System engineers possess more leadership roles than software engineers because they usually work as team leaders. They are required to have effective communication, negotiation, and leadership skills. They should have a proper balance between working in their respective engineering roles and performing the leadership and managerial aspects of the systems engineering position in a team.
On the other hand, software engineers rarely take up major leadership or managerial positions because they often work in subsystems. Their skills are technical and differ from the systems engineering roles, which are both technical and relational. The variation between the roles performed by systems and software engineers makes them stand out in their respective jobs. The accountability roles linked to the work performed by systems engineers change depending on the complexity and scope of a project.
In Summary
While system engineering is concerned with the integration of different interconnected systems, software engineering is often associated with the development or analysis of software programs. Software programs developed by software engineers can be part of a system.
Depending on the nature of software or system, systems and software engineers can either be swapped or they may perform interconnected roles.
Regardless of the size of the project, systems engineers are always tasked with the role of overseeing the project and ensuring that the work conducted in all the subsystems aligns with the intended end goal. In most cases, system engineers who have a background in software engineering can perform the roles of a software engineer, since software engineering is often a sub-component of a system.