[SIGCIS-Members] First uses of the term "Software Engineering"

[Al Kossow]

On 2/3/12 8:12 AM, "Brian Randell" <Brian.Randell at ncl.ac.uk> wrote:

> Hi:
> 
> Prompted by a query from Professor Jochen Ludwig, I am seeking to find early
> uses of the term "software engineering".
> 
> Back in 1978, when I was writing my ICSE-4 paper "Software Engineering in
> 1968", I tried to find the first use.


First use in periodicals that I have easy access to:
,
Datamation May 1962 pg. 57, Bergstein, "Kinke, FACT and the Changing Face of
Honeywell"

" We have concluded that
software engineering, and we call it. that,"

CACM - V9N4 Apr 1966 pg. 246, (part of Anthony G. Oettinger's Bio)

"Technological aids to creative thought, Computl. linguistics, Software
engineering"


The phrase does not appear in the NMAA/DPMA conference proceedings that I
have, but it is interesting to note the term "software" does not appear at
all in DPMA 1958, but appears several times in 1960 and 1961 (I don't have
1959 to check), so that appears to set a lower bound for when the term could
have been in common use.