This open access book includes contributions by leading researchers and industry thought leaders on various topics related to the essence of software engineering and their application in industrial projects. It offers a broad overview of research findings dealing with current practical software engineering issues and also pointers to potential future developments. Celebrating the 20th anniversary of adesso AG, adesso gathered some of the pioneers of software engineering including Manfred Broy, Ivar Jacobson and Carlo Ghezzi at a special symposium, where they presented their thoughts about latest software engineering research and which are part of this book. This way it offers readers a concise overview of the essence of software engineering, providing valuable insights into the latest methodological research findings and adesso's experience applying these results in real-world projects.

Prof. Dr. Volker Gruhn holds the Chair for Software Engineering at the University of Duisburg-Essen. His research focus is on methods for industrial software engineering, as well as the effects of digital transformation on enterprises. He co-founded adesso AG in 1997 and is chairman of the supervisory board today. Dr. Rüdiger Striemer was a member of the executive board of adesso AG from 2001 to 2015, and is today responsible for the software development at adesso's national companies in Switzerland, Austria and Turkey.