  On several earlier anniversaries of the 1968-69 NATO Software Engineering
conferences I have acceded to requests to provide some reminiscences. I repeat
some extracts from these reminiscences here, as a backdrop to brief comments on
subsequent developments, and in particular on the distinctions between
developing off-the-shelf package software and large one-off bespoke software
systems. The software package industry had yet to come into existence in
1968-69, but has proved very successful. But some large software projects in
the latter bespoke category still suffer from problems that are all too
reminiscent of those that, in 1968, gave rise to discussion of a "software
crisis".
