A Mature Profession of Software Engineering

A model is presented that allows the characterization of the maturity of a profession in terms of eight infrastructure components: initial professional education, accreditation, skills development, certification, licensing, professional development, a code of ethics, and a professional society. Several mature professions are examined to provide examples of the nature of these components. The current states of the components of software engineering are described, and predictions are made for the evolution of those components as the profession matures.