A Survey on the Role of Digital Twin Technology in Software Engineering and Development

Abstract

Software engineering is a crucial field for the creation of software systems that are reliable, efficient, and maintainable. But complexities, changing needs, tests, and maintenance issues remain as hurdles along the software development journey. The development of digital twins (DT) has allowed for the creation of a solution that can be utilised for optimisation, analysis, simulation, and real-time monitoring of software or physical systems. This survey paper introduces some software engineering concepts and the concept of DT in the modern software development. The study elaborates on software development processes, major engineering challenges, Digital Twin types, enabling technologies and DT integration levels. Additionally, it looks at the use of DT throughout the Software Development Life Cycle, such as system monitoring, security management, process modeling, and systems engineering. Also taken up in the paper is a review of recent research and industrial applications of DT technology. The results indicate that DT can contribute to better software quality, decision-making, predictive maintenance and continuous optimization of the system. DT present a great opportunity for improving software engineering practices and software lifecycle management as software systems become more complex