1. Introduction

After decades of writing about the field of analysis and design, I write this book to focus on the evolution of software in the world. We have seen over the past 50 years, the continual expansion of the library of software applications that are used in common workplace as well as in the personal lives of people throughout the world. Indeed, software applications continue to change the world, and as a result the challenge of managing the advent of huge application libraries has become of paramount importance. In addition, the advent of social networking has also had a salient impact on the uses and effects of applications over the Internet, and the expansion of open source has now created an environment of applications that can be used on demand and across multiple platforms. We are also facing a new generation of software users who behave as consumers in that they want applications that are personalized and operate across multiple devices. Furthermore, we are experiencing what we are now calling digital transformation, the era in which organizations must provide products and services that meet the demands of a digital economy.