Schach's unique organization and style makes it excellent for use in a classroom setting. It presents the underlying software engineering theory in Part I and follows it up with the more practical life-cycle material in Part II. Many software engineering books are more like reference books, which do not provide the appropriate fundamentals before inundating students with implementation details.

In this edition, more practical material has been added to help students understand how to use what they are learning. This has been done through the use of "How To" boxes and greater implementation detail in the case study. Additionally, the new edition contains the references to the most current literature and includes an overview of extreme programmming.

The website in this edition will be more extensive. It will include Solutions, PowerPoints that incorporate lecture notes, newly developed self-quiz questions, and source code for the term project and case study.