<div class="htmlview paragraph">How shall we improve the quality and reliability of the software we produce? We believe that the critical factor is an understanding <i>how</i> software is constructed, and <i>why</i> it is constructed in that way. Once something is understood, we can begin to build better tools to support and mold the process. This paper outlines a view of how the software process proceeds, why it proceeds that way, and how we can use this perspective to build better tools.</div>