Sunday, December 19, 2010

What makes a developer valuable to Obtiva?

I was recently asked by someone what makes a developer valuable to Obtiva.

Here is the answer I gave:
  1. The developer genuinely cares about the client needs: If the developer does not care about delivering something that serves the client needs, then no amount of work would help achieve success.
  2. The developer strives as much as possible for effective communication with the client: After all, if the developer cannot communicate well with the client to understand their needs, then no amount of technical skill will help them deliver what the client needs.
  3. The developer is always eager to learn something new: As long as the developer is motivated to learn, he will be able to overcome any shortcomings in his current technical skills.
  4. The developer is willing to collaborate with others: A developer who does not play well with others will hamper the project velocity and productivity regardless of how superior his skills are compared to others'.
Notice how none of the points above mention anything about skills in programming languages, software processes, or frameworks and libraries. After all, experience has taught me that soft skills trump hard technical skills at getting to success.

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