11 Skills Software Developers Must Have To Be Valuable To a Business

The UVU Computer Science Department once met with local businesses to understand what skills Computer Science graduates should possess before entering the work field. This feedback was communicated to students from my professor. In summary the feedback included 11 important skills.

1 - Teamwork

You are no longer the lone wolf programmer. You will need to be able to collaborate, problem solve, and plan code solutions with a team. There are tools you will need to learn such as ALM/Ticketing software, agile methodology, and Git version control to make sure this communication happens.

2 - Professionalism

You may not think you are directly serving a customer or client however the work you do will affect the business and thus the customer. Companies vary on dress code but how you present yourself verbally can make a difference on how well collaboration happens with a project manager and other team members. Have a listening ear and communicate respectively.

3 - Initiative

There are times you will need to call out potential issues but be sure to offer solutions. Do the research and planning necessary on your part to insure you help deliver a great technology product.

4 - Continuous Learning

I subscribe to news about programming, web design, DevOps, Cyber Security, Linux, Internet of Things, etc. It is important to be aware of the latest trends in technology and to keep learning. One great website to keep learning technology is PluralSight.com. There are others such as CodeSchool.com, CodeWars.com, udemy.com, etc.

5 - Adaptability

Business may pivot and change as the market shifts despite all of the planning and foresight you have done. Put technology, processes, procedures, and code in place that will allow you adapt to the changing business needs.

6 - Problem Solving

Develop a set of problem solving skills and know the tools that can help you problem solve quicker. In another article I wrote, I mention a list of problem solving skills I have learned while working within the technology field.

See: Useful Problem Solving Skills I've Learned In My Technology Career Path

7 - Critical Thinking & Decision Making

It is important to call out problems and make decisions but first ensure you have done your homework as well. By having data in hand and options in hand you will likely be more convincing in how you solve a problem for the business.

8 - Organization

Don't get caught up in the "doing it mentality". You could be doing things the wrong why by not being organized. Organizing your thoughts, having a plan, and thinking ahead help can insure better decisions will be made with regards to providing technology solutions to your business and customers.

9 - Communication

There are great communication tools out there to help developers and project managers work together well. Be sure to collaborate well with other team members to insure you are going down the right path and not wasting time. Use ALM software to track your user stories and bug fixes.

10 - Customer Focus

More and more it is becoming important for the employees of a company to understand the customer needs. Especially because of the competition of other companies as they constantly innovate for their customers. Be sure to ask questions to understand what the customer experience is so you can collaboratively produce elegant solutions.

11 - Attention to Detail

Be sure to double check your work. As a developer you can do a code review with a coworker developer to insure your code meets good code guidelines, insures good performance, and has no glaring bugs before passing it onto the QA team for functional testing. Consider reading your emails out loud and in some cases reading them to a coworker before clicking "send".