A Call to Promote Soft Skills in Software Engineering

We have been thinking about other aspects of software engineering for many years; the missing link in engineering software is the soft skills set, essential in the software development process. Although soft skills are among the most important aspects in the creation of software, they are often overlooked by educators and practitioners. One of the main reasons for the oversight is that soft skills are usually related to social and personality factors, i.e., teamwork, motivation, commitment, leadership, multi-culturalism, emotions, interpersonal skills, etc. This editorial is a manifesto declaring the importance of soft skills in software engineering with the intention to draw professionals’ attention to these topics. We have approached this issue by mentioning what we know about the field, what we believe to be evident, and which topics need further investigation. Important references to back up our claims are also included. In summary, technical people tend to overlook the importance of soft skills as it is unrelated to their technical area and because their training is in dealing with technical issue; thus considering the soft skills in the software development process to be foreign to them, since the field deals with human factors and touches social sciences. These are topics that software professionals do not have expertise in. We believe that it is high time for the software development community to realize that the human element is pivotal to success in the engineering of software. We have to recognize that software engineering is a people-intensive discipline, hence requires appropriate treatment. Therefore, human aspects of software engineering are important subjects to teach, study and research. We urge software engineers to take on this challenge

Clear Advantages to Studying Abroad: So Why Aren’t Students Enrolling?

Today’s employers are looking for graduates who possess technical skills, work effectively in teams, think critically and communicate effectively, especially across cultures in addition to other qualities. One of the most important skills a person needs in order to be successful in today’s global economy is understanding and working with different cultures. To begin to understand cultural differences, it is important to have cultural training and to experience another culture in that particular country. One of the best ways for students to experience another culture is to take part in a study abroad course and to immerse themselves in another country’s traditions and customs. The Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Fellowship Study Abroad Program Report concluded, “What nations don’t know can hurt them. The stakes involved in study abroad are that simple, that straightforward, and that important. For their own future and that of the nation, college graduates today must be internationally competent.” 5 Not only should graduates be internationally competent, research indicates links between studying abroad and improved graduation rates, as well as employability. 13 While the total number of students in the US studying abroad is still relatively low, at approximately 10% of the total student population, this number is actually at all-time high, which also takes into count students at community colleges. Another study, Gaining an Employment Edge: The Impact of Study Abroad on 21st Century Skills and Career Perspectives, indicated that with “study abroad there was a positive impact on the development of a wide range of the 21st century skills, expands career possibilities, and has a long-term impact on career progression and promotion.” 14 Currently, at the author’s institution 9% of the total enrollment studies abroad. This number is close to the national average of 10%, however, in the School of Engineering and Technology only 1.8% of the total student population currently studies abroad. Why are the national numbers so low and even much lower in Engineering and Technology? This paper will explore what employers are looking for in graduates, how can study abroad help students achieve success, and the benefits of studying abroad for both the employer and the student. The paper will look at some reasons why students might not take advantage of study abroad programs and what can be done to change the attitudes of faculty and students on the value of studying abroad to increase the preparedness of students for a career in the 21st Centur

Assessing Soft Skills for Software Requirements Engineering Processes

Software requirement engineering (SRE) is the process of establishing, documenting, and maintaining software requirements. The goal of this research is to investigate the importance of soft skills in SRE. The data collection was performed through an online questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, principal components analysis (PCA), and stepwise regression techniques were used to analyze the data. A comprehensive review determined the 31 soft skills associated with SRE. There were 122 software development experts in Gaza who participated in the survey. The PCA analysis extracted six factors, named problem-solving, learning willingness, commitment, pressure resilience, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills. The analysis discovered that the level of SRE practice in Gaza is 73.71%. Furthermore, it was determined that 89.2% of respondents have critical thinking skills, and 85% have problem-solving and commitment skills. The result shows that all soft skills factors have strong links to SRE. However, only four soft skills (problem-solving, willingness to learn, pressure tolerance, and critical thinking) were found to have an impact on SRE. Considering these findings, we recommend focusing on the development of soft skills, especially problem-solving and willingness to learn skills, for the team analyzing software system requirements

A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Competency Model of Software Developers: A Case of INTO Company

This research aims to explore the competency factors and dimensions of software developers' competency at INTO company, to create a competency model of software developers' competency at INTO company, and to verify the reliability and validity of the competency factors and dimensions in the context of INTO company. The samples in this research were 480 software development employees of INTO company. A questionnaire was used to collect data and test the hypothesis by confirmatory factor analysis. The results showed that the competency factor model was consistent with the empirical data, with a value of c2 equal to 280.42 and a p-value equal to .000, c2/df is equal to 1.650, GFI is equal to 0.96, AGFI is equal to 0.90, CFI is equal to 0.99, NFI is equal to 0.98, RMR is equal to 0.04, and RMSEA is equal to 0.04. The competency factor model of software developers consists of three components: Professional knowledge and skills, interpersonal competence, and personality traits

АНАЛІЗ НЕОБХІДНИХ КОМУНІКАТИВНИХ НАВИЧОК ПРИ РОЗРОБЦІ ПРОГРАМНОГО ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ

Software engineering is a complex team process. Teamwork involves the constant development of effective communication skills in all its participants. On the one hand, the ability to cooperate with other people is determined by personal qualities – education and character traits, rather than a set of techniques. On the other hand, the need to interact effectively with colleagues determines the desire to develop common algorithms and technologies, even in such areas as informal communication. The importance of IT professionals soft skills improving is increasingly recognized. Much attention is drawn to this topic, new disciplines are introduced in the training programs for students in relevant specialties. However, if there are clear requirements for the availability and level of professional hard skills, then formulate a list of necessary soft skills, and even more assess their quality is a more difficult task. This article attempts to identify key communication skills, taking into account the importance of developing relevant competencies for future software engineers. Among the wide range of interpersonal communication skills required in modern teams, experts recognize the special importance of giving and receiving feedback (on various aspects of business communication: communicative, perceptual, interactive). This category of skills provides training and development of the team and further formation of quality communications in it. Communication in a team involves the possession of a wide range of relevant skills by its members. These should also include the skills of effective self–presentation, presentation of ideas, proposals, results; public speaking; negotiating; behavior in conflict situations, etc.Рассмотрены вопросы важности коммуникативных навыков при разработке программного обеспечения, проанализированы и даны рекомендации по формированию соответствующих компетенций при подготовке студентов.Розглянуто питання важливості комунікативних навичок при розробці програмного забезпечення, проаналізовано та надано рекомендації щодо формування відповідних компетенцій під час підготовки здобуваів вищої освіти

Measures related to social and human factors that influence productivity in software development teams

Software companies need to measure their productivity. Measures are useful indicators to evaluate processes, projects, products, and people who are part of software development teams. The results of these measurements are used to make decisions, manage projects, and improve software development and project management processes. This research is based on selecting a set of measures related to social and human factors (SHF) that influence productivity in software development teams and therefore in project management. This research was performed in three steps. In the first step, there was performed a tertiary literature review aimed to identify measures related to productivity. Then, the identified measures were submitted for its evaluation to project management experts and finally, the measures selected by the experts were mapped to the SHF. A set of 13 measures was identified and defined as a key input for designing improvement strategies. The measures have been compared to SHF to evaluate the development team\u27s performance from a more human context and to establish indicators in productivity improvement strategies of software projects. Although the number of productivity measures related to SHF is limited, it was possible to identify the measures used in both traditional and agile contexts

Applying andragogy for integrating a MOOC into a formal online learning experience in computer engineering

In this paper, we present the results of a research experience of implementing andragogy in a learning environment designed to better meet the needs of adult learners studying part-time at a distance university. The learning environment was composed of a learning experience on a formal distance university online course that has been enriched with a non-formal component based on students’ participation in a Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) related to the same topic. The non-formal experience was designed to consolidate the learning of specific content that involved difficult concepts and foster collaborative skills. The university online course is in the field of computer science and human-computer interaction. The instructional design, including the course assignments, has been guided by Knowles’ principles of andragogy. Results from the data analysis of five years of academic results and student satisfaction has helped to understand the learning experience from including a MOOC in adult distance formal learning

Coaching for soft-skill development: an action research study with project managers

Inspired by the limited literature regarding the benefits of coaching to the coach and prompted by personal experience as a project manager and coach, this participatory action research study takes the situation of professional project managers, who need soft skills, to explore the usefulness of coaching practice as a development approach. There is confusion around soft skills but coaching uses clearer personal and interpersonal skills, and associates philosophical aims including negotiation of a collaborative relationship. Development of soft skills is similarly unclear though real practice, feedback and reflection are essential components, which are often used in the development of novice coaches. Coaching practice is explored for its relevance to project managers. The action research included typical introductory coach training for managers, then facilitation of six coaching practice sessions with a previously unknown coachee (also a project manager). A pragmatist philosophy supported a focus on the practical learning from this coaching practice. Interviews elicited the soft skills noticed while coaching and then any changed use of soft skills at work. Data analysis used induction to identify project managers’ descriptions of learned and applied soft skills, deduction to group themes according to recognisable soft-skill groupings, and abduction led to a rationale for the application of learned skills. Findings show project managers benefit in respect of skills, personal confidence and can feel more like leaders, which contributes to the limited work on benefits to novice coaches. After coaching practice, project managers aim to support colleagues and to encourage them to contribute more, showing elements of managers’ coaching in the workplace. A general soft-skills framework of personal skills, effective communication and role-related skills is proposed for project managers. Keywords: project managers, soft skills, soft-skills development, benefits of coaching to the coach, managerial coaching, manager as coach

Critical Success Factors for Reskilling and Upskilling Engineer Leaders in Customized Executive Education Programs

AbstractSparse research on customized executive education programs leaves a gap in the extant literature on the critical success factors needed for reskilling and upskilling engineers in leadership development. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to describe executive education program experts’ views on the critical success factors needed in customized executive education programs for reskilling and upskilling engineers in leadership development. To meet this study\u27s purpose, a multiple case study design was used to collect data from a purposeful sample of 11 executive education program experts. Semistructured interviews, archival data, and reflective field notes supported the trustworthiness of the study’s findings through data triangulation. Three conceptual models framed this study: Rottmann et al.’s concept of engineering leadership, Fung’s concept of reskilling and upskilling the workforce, and Retana and Rodriguez-Lluesma’s concept of customized executive programs. The data analysis gleaned 20 themes from the five coding categories: (a) customized executive education in the postpandemic era, (b) cocreation of academic–corporate partnership for customized executive education programs, (c) academic–corporate partnership goals for engineer leadership education, (d) critical success factors for a customized executive education program for engineers, and (e) critical success factors for academic–corporate collaborations for reskilling and upskilling engineer leaders. This study contributes to positive social change by identifying the critical success factors for reskilling and upskilling engineers in leadership development to support their midcareer transitions and ensure livelihoods amidst disruptive global events