Software engineering is and will always be a craft. That being said, we are now closer than ever to make it a more science-based, evidence-based profession. To get there faster, we need a strong alignment between industry and academia. As someone that moved from industry to academia and back, I have had the opportunity to see the good, the bad and the ugly of both sides.

In this talk, I will describe, through many examples from industry and academia, where both worlds are aligned perfectly, and where they are not. I aim to explain to academics what practitioners really need from research, and to practitioners what it means to be a science-based field. Sometimes in a provocative way.

It is my hope that, after this talk, academics and practitioners will understand each other better. Because, remember: we are better together.