What skills (apart from coding) should a developer have?
Writing code is just a fraction of what a developer does. To create a digital product that fulfills the highest industry standards you need people skilled in various tools and frameworks, and also communication. But there is more to it. In this article, you will learn what other qualities to look for when assembling your development team.
Table of contents
A successful digital product is one that is both easy to use and solves a business problem. When talking about key software developers’ qualities, we have already stated the need for attitude-related traits: being transparent, purpose-driven, keen on learning and business-orientated. But these are attitudes coming either from the natural predisposition of a person, or something that has been acquired through life experience. They all work well within a team made up of people who know their profession - in other words, people with the right skills. But are all skills the same?
Developers’ skills are like a boiled egg: they can be hard or soft
In the context of digital product development, there is a distinction between hard skills and soft skills. So let’s kick off with some brief definitions:
Soft skills are required from developers for those essential tasks other than working with the code. They might be management skills (for managing people, time, or the project itself), customer service, or the ability to run client workshops; not to mention assertiveness or feedback skills.
Hard skills are competencies and technical abilities related to the particular profession. Every (good) developer should have the ability to work with different frameworks, technologies, tools, methodologies, etc. In the next section, we will look at what these are.
Frameworks and tools are the foundation
On top of being fluent in at least one (and often more than that) programming language, developers need to be familiar with the tools that support them in their work. For example, at the time of writing this article, our tech radar (a tool listing technologies and frameworks we use) shows that combined, our crew are working in:
- 8 development frameworks (platforms providing a foundation for developing a digital product).
- 17 different tools (from data management systems, website auditing tools to open platforms like Docker).
- 17 platforms and services (like AWS IoT or anything related to it).
Any of these could be described in a series of its own articles (and maybe will be). Obviously, we don’t expect every developer to know every single tool, platform and framework, but to be comfortable with their own combination. Sprinkle that with a dash of Agile methodology and you’ve got yourself a Boldare expert.
Putting the soft in software developer - other skills that we pay attention to
Most soft skills for developers are linked to the ability to communicate. It’s the foundation for other skills which influence the quality of the delivered work, such as:
- time management
- business analysis skills
- being assertive
- the ability to work in an interdisciplinary team
It’s very easy to recognize a team that knows how to talk with each other: every member knows what to do, how to say what they need from others, and how to direct attention to emerging problems, etc. In that environment, teams benefit from setting up their own rules, eg. to be transparent at all times or that there are no stupid questions. In the end, the team members become more effective by their ability to communicate among themselves.
Which soft skills will we see becoming more important to developers in the future?
There is a clear shift in the industry. Developers are no longer just judged based on how they complete a certain task, but on how well they communicate - especially with their product owner. The client comes first and time management skills are becoming more sought after. Similarly, the trend for nonviolent communication is growing.
To developers, a lot depends on what kind of team they get to work with. That is why at Boldare, we support them with chapters and invest in their self-development and well-being. After all, growing skills - whether hard or soft - can only happen in the right environment.
Share this article:
