We review the concepts and principal experimental results pertaining to the self-assembly and self-ordering of quantum dots in semiconductor systems. We focus on the kinetics and thermodynamics of the formation and evolution of coherently strained 3D islands, and the effects of strain on nucleation, growth, and island shape. We also discuss ongoing research on methods to control the density, size, and size distributions of strained islands, both within a single strained layer and in quantum dot (QD) multilayers.