The field of software engineering emerged around the 1960s, focused on maximizing software quality—encompassing attributes like stability, security, usability, and cost—and the efficiency of its creation. Margaret Hamilton notably coined the term to legitimize the discipline, which gained significant recognition following NATO-sponsored conferences in 1968 and 1969, marking the official start for many. By the early 1980s, it had solidified as a distinct profession alongside computer science, though the initial strong presence of women like Grace Hopper in programming roles saw a decline over time.

A crucial development was the dramatic decrease in hardware costs, shifting the industry from expensive custom software projects to a wider market for commercial off-the-shelf solutions and enabling faster development. The evolution continues to balance structured processes, intended to improve software quality, with concerns about constraining programmer autonomy.