5 Essential Qualities of Software Developers.
This post was written by MEST Entrepreneur-In-Training, Mary Abiodun.
Wikipedia describes software development as the process of conceiving, specifying, designing, programming, documenting, testing, and bug fixing involved in creating and maintaining applications, frameworks, or other software components. On the other hand, the Bureau of Labour Statistics states that software developers create applications or systems that run on a computer or another device.
Being a software developer can be a big deal in this age and time and doling out software solutions to problems can sometimes be a herculean task. Problems come in different shapes and sizes and it is required of software developers to make sense of what is available and needed to solve these problems.
While this list isn’t exhaustive of all the qualities of a dream software developer, more can be found here and here, these five essentials are sure to guide you in the right direction to see if you are ready for the role:
1. Software developers need to understand software documentations
Law Insider captures a simple and easy-to-understand meaning of documentation, using the definition of “the manuals, installation instructions and other materials that are provided with software whether in printed form or otherwise.”
As new technologies, software, and frameworks are popping up every day, software developers are always on the lookout for them, trying to find ways of incorporating them into their work and solutions. The same goes for technology and software updates. Software developers want to try the new features that have been built into existing software that they currently use. This is where documentation is very useful.
As a software developer, your ability to read and understand documentation is very crucial for productivity and creativity. Documentation is to a software developer what a manual is to a machine.
2. They have a zest for research
Learning and research are intertwined. Software developers are researchers who make friends with search engines. Their thirst for knowledge makes them dive deeper into researching terms, things they have no prior understanding of, and terminologies.
Research also makes us readers — they are either reading articles, tutorials, books, or documentation to get work done. They completely live on Stack Overflow and other software developer learning platforms, either reading, researching or taking online courses. Looking up new techniques and technologies is a huge part of a developer’s work.
3. They are good team players
Software developers are perceived as nerds who hide behind their computer screen coding all day, looking like they don’t interact with others. This is not always the case because software development involves processes that are away from the computer screen and as a result, there is a lot of back-and-forths that require good teamwork.
One quality of a software developer is being a good team player. Teamwork can be either physical or remote. Several applications aid communication amongst teams and a software developer has to learn how to use these tools. Remember that software developers are learners. They definitely learn how to use tools to help them become excellent team players.
4. They have the ability to read and interpret error messages.
A software bug is a problem causing a program to crash or produce invalid output. The problem is caused by insufficient or erroneous logic. A bug can be an error, mistake, defect or fault, which may cause failure or deviation from expected results. Most bugs are due to human errors in source code or its design. — Techopedia
Software developers are debuggers and debugging is very instrumental to a developer’s progress because an inability to fix a bug can be stagnating leaving no room to do any other work on a project. Ironically, bugs are friendly even though they appear to be very annoying.
Frankly speaking, bugs point you to see what you’re missing or failing to do. They do this by throwing up error messages. Your ability to not just read but interpret these error messages will help your debugging skills a great deal. The more you read and understand the error messages, the faster you become in developing solutions as a software developer. So, always remember that bugs are your friends just as search engines are your friends too.
5. Keep the Imposter Syndrome
I know this quality sounds very strange but the truth is that software developers are never free from the impostor syndrome but this is a good quality for them to have. You know why? The more you think you don’t know, the more you want to learn.
Continuous and never-ending improvement is what makes software developers what they are. Their ability to learn a new language or technology within a short period of time stands them out from the crowd. They always think there is so much to still learn and know. Knowledge-seeking is a very good quality to have.
Wondering how to get over imposter syndrome? Here is an article I wrote for female developers to help them overcome the impostor syndrome but the ideas here cut across all gender and you will find it helpful.
There you have it! Are you up for the task of becoming a pro software developer? Join the conversation here, let us know what qualities you think are essential for software developers!
