This document discusses key principles of software engineering. It defines software engineering as the systematic development of software through rigorous and formal processes. The importance of software engineering is discussed in terms of the pervasiveness of software and risks of poor practices. Key principles outlined include separation of concerns, modularity, abstraction, and anticipation of change to help manage complexity and achieve quality goals like reliability. Rigor, formality, and principles like generality and incremental development are discussed as important to software engineering processes and products.